Evolution Studios’ developers have reacted to news of their shutdown. Interestingly, they remain positive and say they intend to stay together.
Word that the developers would stay together came from community manager Jamie Brayshaw. It’s not quite clear if Jamie means the entire studio is staying intact, or if he meant this is what they hope to do, but it does suggest their recent experiences have not fully deterred them from working on games.
@iDeJay_ We're hoping to stay together and there are some great options for us. Here's the original news: https://t.co/Z8DFSHlZCR
— Jamie Brayshaw (@PhenomEvolution) March 22, 2016
In the meantime, Driveclub’s game director, Paul Rustchynsky, shared a statement to fans on Twitter.
I've had an incredible time working for #EvolutionStudios, here's short statement from me: pic.twitter.com/9eITjpbddy
— Paul Rustchynsky (@Rushy33) March 22, 2016
Following up with a fan, Rustchynsky insisted to stay positive for the future.
@Yalstromo @yosp Don't be mad, stay positive for the future, the opportunities are endless 🙂
— Paul Rustchynsky (@Rushy33) March 22, 2016
Evolution Studios was a British game studio who made their name with the MotorStorm games. In 2007, they were acquired by Sony, and were later confirmed to be working on Driveclub, a club racing game intended as a launch title for the PlayStation 4. Driveclub was indefinitely delayed and ultimately had an embarrassing launch, by Sony’s own admission. Part of the problems stemmed from issues at launch, and controversy around the messaging for the PlayStation Plus version of Driveclub. Evolution Studios and Sony showed commitment to fixing Driveclub’s problems, but progress was slow, and in fact, Evolution was still working on game fixes when the news broke.
The timing of the announcement was also interesting, since around the same time last year, Sony released 55 employees from the company. As our source speculates, it is safe to assume that Evolution’s employees were well aware of what was going to happen way before the public announcement.
What would you like to see Evolution Studios do from here on in? Should they re-explore MotorStorm or work on a new IP? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
