Former PlayStation boss saddened by the closure of PixelOpus studio

Shawn Leyden is the former head of Sony Worldwide Studios expressed his disappointment On the closure of Concrete Genie developer PixelOpus. The first-party developer will be shut down on June 2, 2023, to which Leyden responded: “It’s a deep cut. So working with this team and letting them expose the genre, Concrete Genie, maintain a culture Loved seeing their level to deliver. Support, involvement, challenge.”

Concrete Genie was released on PS4 shortly after Shawn Layden stepped away from his role on PlayStation, so the title was in development for most of his tenure. He wished every PixelOpus employee the best for the future as “a new adventure awaits”.

Also responsible for the beautiful PS4 indie game Entwined, the San Mateo studio will close its doors for good in early June. Why PixelOpus is closing, Sony said: PlayStation Studios regularly evaluates the status of its portfolio and studio projects to ensure they meet the organization’s short- and long-term strategic objectives. . As part of a recent review process, it has been decided that PixelOpus will close on June 2.”

The team had a PS5 game in development, as job listings point to the title being produced in Unreal Engine 5 in collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation. Many PlayStation fans a Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse spin-off experience, but even though the studio was developing it, it looks like it will no longer see the light of day.

In a September 2021 interview, Shawn Layden explained that he left his position at PlayStation because he was burned out with the industry. Having helped bring PS4 exclusives such as Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War to market, he felt it was “a good time to step up and allow another generation to bring the PlayStation 5 to market”. . Shawn Layden now works at Tencent as a strategic consultant.