Today has been crazy: we have news that Prey 2 might be cancelled, and now – this. Earlier today, Kotaku reported on rumors that Zipper Interactive would be closing its doors. This is extreme, mainly due to the fact it’s Zipper Interactive. Their contributions to the gaming space are not small, in any shape or form. They brought about mass usage of gaming headsets, and refined cooperative play into what we see today – mainly by means of their popular SOCOM franchise.
However, to be completely frank: their past few titles haven’t fared so well in game retailers around the world, which makes this less than a surprise. MAG, perhaps their largest endeavor this generation, didn’t do well at all. If that wasn’t enough to put the developer on thin ice with parent company Sony, then the failures of Unit 12 and SOCOM 4 probably were.
With all of that said, it’s not often we see Sony closing first-party studios. Say what you want about the Japanese-based publisher, they are very supportive of their studios. As usual, they didn’t have much to say when approached on the subject, giving us a tight-lipped “we don’t comment on rumors or speculation.”
Watch Gameranx for more information on this development.
