PlayStation’s London Studio, known for its work on peripheral games like EyeToy and Wonderbook, is working on an untitled co-op game set in a fantasy version of its home city.
In a lengthy interview with GameIndustry.biz, Co-Studio Head Stuart Whyte explained the studio is proud of its experimental history working with peripherals and virtual reality, but wanted to explore new challenges for its upcoming project.
“We definitely wanted to try something a little bit different, and I think this new project really channels our ‘brave’ value and allows us to push ourselves on the ‘curious’ front, too,” Whyte says. “It’s an exciting future, it really is.”
Co-studio head Tara Saunders says the fantasy game is being developed specifically for PlayStation 5, and will include themes of “bringing fantasical and magical elements and intersecting that with familiar worlds,” such as its fantasy version of London.
London Studio clarified it’s not making another VR game, but is still using some tools from its previous VR work, such as its internal Soho Engine, during development.
The studio’s most recent game, Blood and Truth, was released for the PlayStation VR in 2019, which IGN’s review described as “a great example of what PSVR can accomplish with a fun, engrossing blockbuster story.” Prior to this, London Studio also released PlayStation VR Worlds, which launched alongside the virtual reality headset in 2016. But it sounds like the studio is leaving outside peripherals behind for the time being with this new project.
Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.