Educated Guesses: What Sony’s Studios Are Working On

Everything’s quiet. A little too quiet.

Sony won’t talk about it, but we all know it’s coming: an all-new PlayStation console, likely in time for the holiday, 2013 buying frenzy. Then again, firm details about the console aren’t only scarce; they’re basically non-existent.

But one indicator that something big is coming is the fact that most of Sony’s studios are working on totally unknown titles. Think about it: we have no idea what studios like Sucker Punch, Sony Bend, Evolution Studios and Polyphony Digital are working on, and for some of these teams, it’s been a year or more since we’ve heard anything at all. But that won’t stop us from guessing what’s next.

Below, IGN’s PlayStation team – Executive Editor Greg Miller and Editor Colin Moriarty – will field their best guesses and inklings about what each of Sony’s fully-owned studios are working on. You should feel free to contribute to the conversation in the comments and let us know what you think all of these development houses are up to.

(A shout out to Brian Altano is in order for creating the guess grids for each studio.)

Evolution Studios

Greg Says: MotorStorm Apocalypse was fun, pretty, and completely overlooked. It didn’t help that it was delayed due to the Japanese tsunami, it didn’t help that there was little marketing, and it didn’t help that beautiful racing games are a dime a dozen now. How do you make the franchise matter again? Release an awesome looking MotorStorm along with the PS4 so that there’s no competition to steal any thunder. That’s what I’d do with Evolution, but if you want to get nuts, we know that former Wipeout developer Sony Liverpool closed and that there was a mysterious “WE. ARE. ALIVE.” Wipeout Tweet. Maybe Evolution is trying its hand at futurist racing?

Colin Says: When Sony acquired Evolution Studios in 2007, it was fresh off of the success of the original MotorStorm. Indeed, Evolution hasn’t worked on anything but MotorStorm ever since; its most recent release was a MotorStorm title – MotorStorm RC – for both PS3 and Vita. So it makes sense that the studio would be working on another one, this time for PlayStation 4. Still, with the closure of Sony Liverpool, Sony has a super-popular racing series with no native developer in the form of WipeOut. I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see Evolution eventually make a game from that franchise.

Guerilla Games

Greg Says: C’mon. It’s Guerilla Games. Of course they’re making Killzone 4 for the PlayStation 4 and it’s going to look amazing and have cool multiplayer. Slam dunk. I know I wrote about the team’s three projects back in 2012 – Killzone Vita, continuing the Killzone franchise on PS3, and a new IP – and Killzone 4 doesn’t fit into those, but maybe continuing Killzone on PS3 is just continuing the story onto the PS4. If not that, hopefully the new IP is some kind of 1920s shooter. You know, something that isn’t brown and on an alien world like every other shooter.

Colin Says: Guerilla Games is essentially known as “the Killzone studio”. Back in 2011, Guerilla confirmed it was working on ”the next Killzone installment”, as well as a new IP. That new Killzone installment could technically be Killzone: Mercenary on PlayStation Vita, but with Sony Cambridge helping out on that game, it’s unlikely. No, to me, Guerilla Games is certainly working on Killzone 4, and as for that new IP? My best (and entirely random) guess is that it’s an open-world RPG, something totally different for a studio build upon shooter after shooter.

Media Molecule

Greg Says: Media Molecule was looking to do something other than LittleBigPlanet. Assumedly, that’s why Media Molecule didn’t developer LBP Vita or LBP Karting and started Tearaway instead. Now, it’s time to get back to Sackboy. Rumors of “LittleBigUniverse” have been getting kicked around for a while, and I have no idea what that means. You’d assume, it’s LBP on a grand scale – something only the PS4 could handle. Some kind of online-driven, world creating title. If Media Molecule isn’t going that big, I’d guess the studio is going super-small; a downloadable PSN game that oozes charm and reminds us all how good cute, tight experiences can be.

Colin Says: A year and a half ago, we reported that Media Molecule was “stepping away” from LittleBigPlanet. On one hand, this is a surprise as LittleBigPlanet is one of Sony’s biggest and most important exclusives. But on the other hand, Media Molecule needs to spread its creative wings, and if LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is any indication, the series is in very good hands these days. I would never put it beyond the studio to reveal LittleBigPlanet 3 for PS4, but I think something entirely different is in the works.

Naughty Dog

Greg Says: During the PS3’s lifecycle, Nathan Drake became the console’s poster boy. PlayStation 4 needs him to sell units. I don’t think Uncharted 4’s going to arrive alongside the PS4 this year, but I bet Nathan Drake is promoting it from the get go and hyping his 2014 game. If that doesn’t happen, than Naughty Dog’s toiling away at a new third-person action game for the PS4, but I doubt Sony would let the studio leave the new system Drake-less.

Colin Says: We know that Naughty Dog has been split into two teams, and we know that one team is working on The Last of Us. The question is, what’s that other team working on? Uncharted is an increasingly huge franchise for Sony and there’s little doubt that the core team that built Uncharted 2 is making Uncharted 4 for the next PlayStation. But nothing is certain; I wouldn’t be surprised to see Naughty Dog revitalize its Jak & Daxter series at some point. After all, they were thinking about it before stumbling onto the idea for The Last of Us.

Polyphony Digital

Greg Says: Gran Turismo moves units. People buy PlayStations to play these games. There is no way Polyphony isn’t working on Gran Turismo 6. I won’t even entertain this foolish conversation any further.

Colin Says: For racing games, Sony has Evolution, but it also has Polyphony Digital, the expert – yet slow-working – studio responsible for Sony’s best-selling franchise of all time: Gran Turismo. Gran Turismo 6 has been long rumored, and there’s virtually no doubt that the studio is toiling away on it as we speak. But could they also be working on a Vita iteration? Signs point to yes. My (increasingly enlarging) gut tells me that both will be revealed before the end of the year.

Sony Bend

Greg Says: The biggest gun the PlayStation Vita had at launch was Uncharted: Golden Abyss from Bend Studios. The game was good, but there’s been plenty of fan feedback that Bend could use to make an amazing sequel. That’s what I think they’re doing. The Vita needs homerun hitters to sell units, and a portable Uncharted without the forced touch mechanics would be just that. Out in left field, there’s the always rumored return of Gabe Logan in a Syphon Filter on PS4, but try as I did, I couldn’t make people care about these games on the PSP. Why would that change now? Don’t we have enough stealth-action/third-person shooters?

Colin Says: In recent years, Sony Bend has proven itself totally capable of handling other studios’ prized franchises, whether in the form of Resistance or, more recently, Uncharted. Uncharted: Golden Abyss was a launch game for Vita, and is still one of Vita’s best titles. As a result, it would be surprising if Sony didn’t try to get another one on Vita in short order. But still, many gamers (like myself) have been clamoring for a while to see Sony Bend get back to the major (yet old) Sony franchise it designed: Syphon Filter. Here’s hoping we see a new Uncharted Vita game and Syphon Filter in the near future.

Sony Cambridge

Greg Says: Cambridge has been toiling away on Killzone: Mercenary for a while now, and once that Vita shooter is out the door, I bet the team gets to work on a sequel. The Killzone franchise loves sequels, and the Vita needs top-tier games to make people care about the handheld. If not that, Sir Dan’s appearance in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale certainly makes it seem like Sony believes there are still fans out there who care about the knightly skeleton.

Colin Says: These days, Sony Cambridge seems to have fallen into a sort of support role. They’re helping with Guerilla Games’ foray onto Vita with Killzone: Mercenary, but are they up to anything else? It’s likely they are. I’d love to see Cambridge return to its long-dormant MediEvil franchise, and perhaps Sir Dan’s inclusion in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a sign. And maybe the signs haven’t stopped there. Sony Cambridge helped Ninja Theory with Heavenly Sword, Nariko’s in Heavenly Sword, and… well… they call it a “left field” pick for a reason.

Sony London

Greg Says: While SingStar never took off here in the States (I blame the lack of wireless mics), it’s a phenomenon in the UK. Sony would be silly to not have SCE London working on a PS4 version of the title. Now, in terms of what I’d like? Give the world another The Getaway. I know they won’t, but still.

Colin Says: Sony London isn’t known for its glamorous projects: these guys are the casual games experts. Their SingStar series is huge, especially in Europe, but a new SingStar almost seems too obvious. Still, I think their next game will be some sort of augmented reality game that uses the PlayStation Move (or its next form) and some other stuff core gamers won’t care about. But what I’d really love to see is Sony London return to its roots with a game legions of old-school PlayStation fans really want, and one that was thought to be in development long ago: a new entry into The Getaway series.

Sony San Diego

Greg Says: MLB The Show is the best baseball game around. Everyone knows that. The team pours hour after hour into making the game sing, so it has to have some people working on the first PS4 version of the title. San Diego is not the type of team to put out a version of its flagship franchise that doesn’t live up to its own expectations. If San Diego is up for other projects, ModNation Racers had a lot of great ideas on the PlayStation Vita and some elbow grease could make the MNR sequel fantastic.

Colin Says: The crew at Sony San Diego is predominantly known for its critical and commercial hit baseball game MLB: The Show, and I think Greg’s right when he says that they’re working hard on bringing it to PS4 in 2014. But Sony San Diego does more than just baseball games. Sony confirmed to IGN last year that Sony San Diego was finishing Warrior’s Lair, the PS3/Vita crossplay dungeon crawler. And what if they revived the virtually dead Jet Moto series? Sony published two of those games and 989 helped on the series as well. And 989 and Sony San Diego share a common history.

Sony Santa Monica

Greg Says: You insult me by asking me to justify this choice. PlayStation 4 + God of War IV = $$$$.

Colin Says: The house that God of War built (hey, I wrote a history-of about Sony Santa Monica with that name!) is about to released God of War: Ascension on PS3. Surely, God of War 4 must be in development for PlayStation 4 as well. After all, the kids love them some Kratos. But what else could they be doing? Something inside me tells me that Sony Santa Monica wants to mold a new identity, one not so closely tethered to God of War. Something new could be in the works, but I think the first step is to make what was old new again: Kinetica 2 could be an interesting downloadable foray for Sony Santa Monica as it tries to do different things after years and years of God of War.

Studio Japan

Greg Says: I liked Gravity Rush – but some people loved Gravity Rush. With a few tweaks, a Gravity Rush sequel could be the best game on the PlayStation Vita, and that’s headline that has to sound pretty attractive to Sony and its struggling handheld. That’s the project for Studio Japan, and if not that, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAKE PATAPON PS4.

Colin Says: Nailing down what Studio Japan is working on is difficult, because it’s a sort of amorphous collection of teams and small studios all doing their own thing. Team ICO has been working on The Last Guardian for what seems like a century, and they’re technically part of Studio Japan. Likewise, teams at Studio Japan are working on two games we know of: Rain and Puppeteer. But what else? A sequel to Gravity Rush on Vita seems like a sure thing, but I know Greg would certainly be pleased with Patapon 4 on Vita, too.

Sucker Punch

Greg Says: As much as I want to believe Sucker Punch is working on Infamous 3, the endings of Infamous 2 were dramatically different and enough to make me think the studio is moving on to something new. What? How about a third-person action game on the PS4 that features some kind of gun? Yeah, that seems like a safe bet. I’d also wager it’s a PS4 launch title.

Colin Says: As a huge Infamous fan, Sucker Punch’s prolonged period of silence has been a little frustrating for me. I’m eager to know what they’re working on next. Almost certainly, Sucker Punch will bring Infamous to PlayStation 4 in the form of Infamous 3 (even if the ending of Infamous 2 creates a roadblock to that… they’ll figure it out). But the studio is talented, and they’re capable of more. I’d love to see them develop a gritty, dark third-person shooter for PlayStation 4, something totally unexpected from the developer that once brought us Sly Cooper. Time will tell!

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

Greg is the executive editor of IGN PlayStation, cohost of Podcast Beyond and host of Up at Noon. Follow IGN on Twitter, and keep track of Greg's shenanigans on IGN and Twitter. Beyond!

blog comments powered by Disqus
Become a fan of IGN