Deviation Games’ PlayStation Title Seemingly Had A Budget In Excess Of $50 Million

Deviation Games’ appear to have been dealing with a budget in excess of $50 million for its PlayStation-exclusive project. The information comes from the LinkedIn profile of the former Chief Operating Officer of Deviation Games, Shaun E. (via @bogorad222.) Reports have been going around about Deviation Games and its project that was being worked on in light of recent developments at the studio.

Yesterday, it was reported that Deviation Games laid off several of its employees following the cancellation of its PlayStation-exclusive project. Many employees took to social media and expressed their sentiments regarding the situation and stated that they were open to working in other production roles within the gaming industry. Layoffs have been a frequent occurrence in the industry but that doesn’t make it easier to deal with.

The news regarding the cancellation of Deviation Games’ project appears to have been confirmed by a former employee when asked about why Sony canned the title. The employee replied to the question stating that they weren’t sure about it other than cost-cutting measures. The studio was developing an original IP that was going to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5.

He confirmed it by accident
Question: Do you know why Sony canceled your project?
Answer:I’m really not sure, other than probably cost cutting.

— Timur222 (@bogorad222) May 13, 2023

This also ties into one of Deviation Games’ co-founders, chief creative officer Jason Blundell, leaving the studio in September of last year. People have presumed that the development of the project was not going well which led to Sony pulling the plug on it. This in turn caused the studio to proceed with the layoffs, possibly to balance things out in an attempt to recover.

Deviation Studio, led by Call of Duty veterans Dave Anthony and Jason Blundell, signed the deal with Sony for a new IP in 2021. This was detailed in a post on PlayStation Blog. Back then, the studio was over 100 people strong and growing with backing from SIE. 

 We’re drawing on what we’ve learned over our collective decades making games, but we’re also out to make something fresh and brimming with innovation like you’ve never experienced before.

Here’s to hoping for the best for the people who were impacted by the lay-offs and for the studio to get back on track.