Today we received some very saddening and troubled news from Sony. They have decided to shut down one of their Worldwide Studios members, Evolution Studios. Yes the same studio that brought us the Motorstorm games and most recently Driveclub on PS4. Sony issued the following press statement on the closure:
Regular reviews take place throughout SCE Worldwide Studios, ensuring that the resources that we have in such a competitive landscape can create and produce high quality, innovative and commercially viable projects.
As part of this process we have reviewed and assessed all current projects and plans for the short and medium term and have decided to make some changes to the European studios structure.
As a result, it has been decided that Evolution Studio will close.
It is regrettable that this decision will lead to compulsory redundancies. We accept that this decision will mean that we risk losing high calibre staff but by focusing on other Studios that already have exciting new projects in development we believe we will be in a stronger position going forward and able to offer the best possible content of the highest quality for our consumers.
Where possible we will try to reallocate people onto other projects. If appropriate opportunities are not possible within the company, we will assist staff in any way we can, including speaking with local employers and with other development companies.
Evolution has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios for over 10 years – working on ground-breaking racing titles like WRC, Motorstorm and DRIVECLUB.
This decision should not take anything away from the great work that Evolution has produced.
I guess the question now becomes why did Sony decide it was time to close Evolution Studios? Yes we all know the Motorstorm games struggled even though they were good games overall. Motorstorm Apocalypse in particular didn’t sell well due to it coming out right when the PlayStation Network was hacked and shut down for over a month back in 2011. I played a lot of Apocalypse and thought it was a very good game and found it a shame that so many people passed on it. Despite that Sony kept Evolution Studios running and let them continue making games.
Driveclub was announced at the PS4 reveal event in February 2013 and was supposed to be a PS4 launch title. Then when the PS4 launch rolled around Driveclub ended up being delayed due to development issues and it even caused the studio to get a new game director. Driveclub finally ended up launching a year later in October 2014 but launched with a lot of problems. The game had a lot of online issues causing players to not be able to play with their friends and the free PlayStation Plus version as well as the Driveclub app were nowhere in sight. Although the game was gorgeous and one of the best playing racing games on the market the year delay and the online issues turned a lot of people away from it.
After a couple months the online issues were finally ironed out and the game started to show what it was really capable of. Evolution Studios has been releasing free monthly patches for the game that has constantly added new features as well as new paid cars and tracks for the game. The free PlayStation Plus version also finally launched in Summer 2015 but it seems by then no one cared which is a shame. I have put some time into Driveclub and I have been amazed at just how much Evolution has fixed and supported the game. Yes it had development struggles and release issues but the game that has been on the market for over a year has been one of the best racing games you can get right now on any platform.
Evolution also released Driveclub Bikes in October 2015 further supporting the base game with even more content by allowing you to drive a variety of motorcycles. Most recently Evolution has been showing a PlayStation VR demo of Driveclub that they were hoping to add to the game later on. Now with the studio’s closure we probably won’t ever see this. It is very sad that a game that has had more support than perhaps any other game in recent memory ended up this way. It is sad that so many gamers passed on Driveclub due to some early issues that were quickly fixed. When we as gamers don’t support studios and games this is usually what happens. I also wonder if Sony is just too busy putting money into PlayStation VR and it was the reason they closed Evolution. Whatever the reason it is a huge shame that one of the best racing game developers in the world is now gone. Hopefully the employees find new work somewhere soon and can create something else great.
DarthDiggler
Yea this is a big shame. I believe the Liverpool Studios (WipeOut guys) merged with Evolution just a few years ago.
Psn Merc
Yes that is correct. Sad that this happened.
jacksjus
It’s a shame however it’s business. The shareholders at Sony do not see games in the way we do. We think entertainment and they think profit. Regardless of how beloved a game is if it doesn’t bring a healthy return on their investment it’s curtains.
Evolution wasn’t releasing free stuff because they were nice, they did it because they were in some hot water internally and needed to save face.
I hope this much is clear to those that have been praising them for being so generous.
However, you can only hope that the developers whom weren’t responsible find a new job ASAP.
Psn Merc
The game sold more than 2 Million copies. I feel like this is more that Sony didn’t trust them to make something else and have a problem again. That or Sony wants to put their money elsewhere and they don’t seem to care as much about their first party studios anymore
popo123
Driveclub and Driveclub VR are not dead. They are still alive and well and is still being developed(DC VR). I doubt most of the employees are out of job. They’re most likely just been transferred to another Sony game studio to continue working on Driveclub or another Playstation game. So yeah, expect updates to continue coming out for Driveclub and Driveclub VR. https://twitter.com/PhenomEvolution/status/712302746825842688/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Psn Merc
This doesn’t mean that the game will get any more updates or Driveclub VR. It simply means Sony will handle the servers and things like that. Just like other game such as PlayStation All Stars all Sony will do is make sure the online aspects stay running. That is what that statement is talking about.
popo123
Driveclub just got a new update today and how do you know Driveclub VR is dead when the developers of DC just said themselves that DC is now in the hands of Playstation? Studios may die or stop developing games but their games often don’t specially if said game is a successful one owned by a larger company.
Psn Merc
There are no guarantees and I don’t know for sure but I’m going off Sony’s track record with closures in the past. Every time they close a studio such as Lightbox Interactive, Eat Sleep Play, or Superbot they have done nothing more than keep servers running for those games. They have never done more content for any of those games after the studio closed. You can hope if you want but I’m just telling you I wouldn’t expect anything else for Driveclub if I was you.
popo123
I will still be hopeful since Driveclub seems to be actually profitable and well known and is getting them recognition in its genre as well.