Sony has quietly shut down PixelOpus, one of its first-party PlayStation studios. Based in San Mateo, California, the studio was responsible for 2014 devoured and 2019 Concrete genius.
News of this first broke through a Twitter post from the studioexpressing the team’s gratitude to the players who enjoyed their games.
“Dear friends, our PixelOpus adventure has come to an end. As we look toward a new future, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to the millions of passionate gamers who have supported us and our mission to make beautiful, imaginative games with heart. We are so thankful!”
Sony did not immediately publicly comment on the closure, but has since confirmed it in a statement IGN that PixelOpus will actually close on June 2nd.
“PlayStation Studios regularly evaluates its portfolio and the status of studio projects to ensure they are meeting the organization’s short- and long-term strategic goals,” the company said IGN. “As part of a recent review process, it was decided that PixelOpus will close on June 2nd.”
PixelOpus was a small team within the mighty giant PlayStation Studios less than 20 employees as of 2019. The studio’s breakout game was 2019 Concrete genius on PS4 which was beautiful to look at and had a cool painting mechanic but its pace felt a little heavy, even with a brisk runtime of around five hours. Before the closure was Pixelopus Working on a project with Sony Pictures Animationbut we don’t know yet if this game is still in the works with another team or has been canceled altogether.
It’s a sad ending for a talented studio, but feels pretty good Sony’s hard swing to prestige blockbusters at any price. In addition to the closure of PixelOpus, the company closed Japan studio in 2021, which spawned some of the more experimental work within the PlayStation first-party ecosystem. It’s a shame, and while there are still some studios doing cool things in places like Media Molecule, without them there’s certainly a gap in Sony’s catalogue.
