Guerilla Games Cambridge will be closed and all employees will be laid off, Sony has confirmed. Sony states that the move comes after a review of all current PlayStation projects, and that “it is necessary to make some changes to the European studios structure.” Sony also claims that they hope to relocate staff to other Sony studios or assist them in finding work with other Cambridge-based developers.
The studio’s most recent release, RIGS: Mechanized Combat League for PlayStation VR received solid reviews, and does not appear to be an impetus for the closure. Sony reiterates that, “this decision should not take anything away from the incredible games and services that Guerilla Cambridge has delivered.” It is not known what upcoming projects the studio was working on and what the outlook on those projects may be.
Potential concerns about the future of PlayStation VR were also addressed in the statement: “[B]y focusing on other Studios with exciting new projects in development, (including continued work on PlayStation VR), we believe we will be in a stronger position going forward and able to offer the best possible content of the highest quality to our players.”
Guerrilla Cambridge’s closure does not impact the Guerilla Games studio in Amsterdam, currently working on Horizon Zero Dawn and known for creating the bulk of the Killzone games. The Cambridge studio’s history stretches back to its formation in the late ‘80s as Millennium Interactive, which developed the James Pond games for the Sega Genesis. Millennium was purchased by Sony in 1997, and they became known for the MediEvil series before being placed under the Guerilla Games umbrella in 2012. Prior to RIGS: Mechanized Combat League, they also produced the PlayStation Vita game, Killzone: Mercenary.
Guerilla Cambridge was looking for new team members as recently as October of last year, although no current Cambridge openings are listed on their site. There are still several openings listed for the Amsterdam branch of Guerilla, although those are likely to be on hold while the fallout of the Cambridge closing can be sorted out.
Do you have fond memories of games made by Guerilla Cambridge or its progenitors? Does this closure cloud the outlook of internally developed PlayStation VR games?
