Sony Interactive Entertainment's London Studio is hiring developers to work on a new intellectual property for PlayStation 5. This is the first indication that London Studio's PS5 project will also be a new IP.
London Studio is a long-running PlayStation first-party team made famous by its SingStar series during the PlayStation 2 era. The studio has since worked on a number of peripheral-based PlayStation games for both the EyeToy camera and, more recently, PlayStation VR. London Studio's last game, Blood & Truth, became the first VR title to reach number one on the UK physical software charts after its release in 2019. It has been known that London Studio is working on an exclusive PS5 game with a multiplayer component based on information on VFX Lead David Skilton's LinkedIn page and a job posting from last December. This recent news, however, provides a little more insight on the upcoming title.
Job listings on London Studio's website indicate that its unannounced PS5 game will be a new IP. Specifically, listings for a Lead VFX Artist and Lead Technical Artist both reference work for a "brand new, next-gen IP." Other descriptions for a Senior Pipeline Programmer, a Lead 3D Character Artist, and an Animation Programmer refer to work on a "next-gen" project. Meanwhile, the description for a Principal Online Gameplay Designer reaffirms that London Studio is at work on a "new PS5 project" that includes "multiplayer gameplay."
It is still a mystery exactly what London Studio is working on, but mentions of "experimenting and working in uncharted design territory" imply it could be a game for Sony's recently announced and unnamed sequel to the PlayStation VR headset, which will launch sometime after 2021. This would make sense given the studio's history as a PSVR and peripheral-based developer. London Studio made PlayStation VR Worlds as a launch title for PSVR back in 2016. Based on the timelines for the potential release of London Studio's next-gen game and the launch of the next-gen PSVR headset, it is possible that London Studio's new IP will be another VR launch title.
Regardless of when the game launches or where, fans of PlayStation VR and London Studio can assume neither are going anywhere anytime soon. In just the last few months, PlayStation has announced that a PSVR successor is in the works, unveiled the unit's stylish new controllers, and announced six new games coming to the current iteration of PSVR this year. Sony's support of virtual reality in gaming this generation is clear. When the next PSVR headset launches for PlayStation 5, Sony will need exciting new games to propel the hardware forward. London Studio may just be the team for the job.
Source: London Studio