Cognition Dissemination: Evolution Devolved
Sony Computer Entertainment played the bearer of unfortunate news after confirming that Driveclub and Motorstorm developer Evolution Studios will be shuttered yesterday. This move will leave even more game development talent out of a job, in what’s been a perpetually volatile industry throughout the HD gaming era thus far. Development studio closures have become as common as thunderstorms in rainforests, and these issues only worsen as costs continue to rise all around. Regardless of their frequency, these occurrences will always remain sad to see, especially when the studio was a large one that handled AAA titles.
What’s seriously tragic is how this is the second United Kingdom racing studio to close from Sony alone. They previously shuttered Wipeout developer Studio Liverpool back in August 2012, after apparently seeing no viable future for the franchise, or the potential for the developers to tackle other genres. Perhaps they’re rethinking this now, because a revived Colony Wars could have taken great advantage of PlayStation VR; but this could also be wishful thinking.
Though it took many by surprise, particularly those who believed Sony was satisfied with Driveclub’s overall sales despite its rocky launch, this was sadly more of a tragic inevitability upon seeing recent sales and popularity trends. The racing genre has fallen on hard times in the last half-decade, as some consumers have collectively lessened their options as they’re spending less money on gaming, while others simply tired of the genre. The only big survivors of this perilous culling were Gran Turismo and the Forza series, though both of those also fallen in popularity from their previous software sales heights — especially the former (scroll down). Considering Gran Turismo is also from Sony, it seems one of them had to go.
Keep in mind the above info is only referring to simulation racers (as in, they simulate the feeling of driving a real car); you’re really up a creek if you’re in the apparently-niche market for arcade-style racing titles. Hopefully you enjoy kart racing games, or your best hope will be crowdfunding.
The real surprise regarding this closure is the timing Sony chose. Sure, this happened now due to the gaming industry’s impending fiscal year closure on March 31st, but what sticks out is how this is the second big United Kingdom studio to close within 15 days. Microsoft announced the closure Fable developer Lionhead Studios on March 7th, and cancelled free-to-play title Fable Legends despite its nearly-finished state. Both closures were made through cold-but-calculated business decisions, and they’ve sadly left a lot of talented people out of work. Worse yet, there’s no guarantee of them finding employment at other big gaming studios, given recent trends.
The UK AAA game development sector is currently reeling, and though these two are the latest tragedies, others like the aforementioned Liverpool have also been shuttered in the last five years. As others have said, it’s reminiscent of what occurred in Australia in the latter half of the last console generation, where multiple large and small game studios were closed, leaving few left standing. It’s unfortunate, but given the combination of higher budgets and stagnant software sales, something was bound to bust.
The current timing of Evolution’s closure is also ironic because Sony recently held a job fair for Lionhead’s staff shortly after Microsoft confirmed their closure. It’s led to logical questions regarding why they didn’t simply move Evolution’s staff to one of their other studios. But unconfirmed reports are saying they indeed moved a small number of them, and that a similarly small group of ex-Lionhead staffers were hired, likely for PlayStation VR work. That’s slightly reassuring, but no one is considering that a positive PR move after this latest bombshell.
While you shouldn’t expect many further Driveclub updates, unless it’s more feasible than it seems for Sony to have another studio handle them, this leaves a big question: What happened to Driveclub VR? Driveclub director Paul Rustchynsky said more info would be revealed at E3 on Twitter last Thursday, but at that time, Evolution’s staff had no idea they would be out of work soon afterward. Sony has yet to issue any kind of comment regarding its whereabouts, and if they don’t, we’ll just have to wait until E3 to see if it shows. If it doesn’t, assume the worst.
I mentioned above that crowdfunding was the best hope for non-AAA arcade-style racing games, a fate which sadly doesn’t seem feasible for simulation titles. One of their key attractions is the use of real cars from real brands, meaning the licensing costs would be astronomical. Making such a title through crowdfunding would only be possible if it was a Star Citizen-level effort, which is anomalous. Instead, hopefully a developer feels generous enough to fund a B-tier effort. Otherwise, hopefully you still have a library of old games in the genre to occupy your time, especially since it will be a while until Polyphony Digital finishes the next real Gran Turismo title.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
