Back in 2020, Jason Blundell and Dave Anthony, two development veterans who worked on the Call of Duty: Black Ops series of games created Deviation Games, new studio. At the time, they announced a partnership with PlayStation on an original AAA IP. Unfortunately, the game will not see the light of day as it has been revealed that the studio is closing.
Deviation Games Operations Officer Kriste Stull announced the closure on LinkedIn.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Deviation Games. I want to express my deepest gratitude to our entire team. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication, and contributions to Deviation; I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have worked with each and every one of you.
To the entire video game industry, we will be hosting a networking event, and we would love for any/all companies/studios hiring to participate. Please reach out to me directly if you are interested in attending.
To all the Deviators out there, we will always cherish the memories we made together. Thank you for being part of our journey. Go get ’em!”
In 2021, Deviation was reportedly “over 100 strong” when it signed the deal with Sony. Anthony spoke about the deal, saying “It’s absolutely mind-blowing. For us, we have never been in a situation like this before, where we’ve got everything we could possibly ask for. From day one of the studio we have complete financial security for years and years to come. Now, with this partnership with Sony, we can be ourselves. And not only that, when we bring people into the studio, we can promise them that this is our culture. And we can fearlessly create and innovate and be groundbreaking.”
In 2022, Jason Blundell left the studio.
Last month, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it would be laying off 8% of its workforce, roughly 900 people have been affected.