Sony’s not-so-secret secret San Diego studio (no, not San Diego Studio) appears to be hard at work on “expand[ing]…existing franchises,” if a LinkedIn profile update for former studio head and senior director of Visual Arts at PlayStation World Wide Studios, Michael Mumbauer, is to be believed. His profile includes the following paragraph:
His latest achievement is having built a brand new, all-star, AAA Action/Adventure development team for Playstation[sic]. Based in San Diego and utilizing proprietary engine technology, this team was assembled to expand upon existing franchises and craft all new stories for the next generation of gamers.
Here’s a screenshot of his profile in case it gets edited:
Looking deeper into Mumbauer’s history with Sony, he’s had part in many of PlayStation’s most notable and beloved franchises, including Uncharted, The Last of Us, God of War, Resistance, Killzone, and more.
Rumors of the secret studio located in San Diego have been floating around for a couple of years. It is said to be staffed by former Naughty Dog and Rockstar devs who have moved over to assist this team with its new project, and most recently, reports indicate that the still-unannounced and secretive studio is hard at work on whatever it is developing. Allegedly, that seems to be something that will expand on an existing franchise. Also, it seems to be an action/adventure team, so don’t expect the return of FPS franchises like Killzone or Resistance, at least through this secret Sony San Diego studio.
Sony’s expansion of its internal teams to support existing franchises is no surprise. It frequently uses the work of its flagship studios to develop bold new projects, while relegating continued support of those projects’ additional releases to support studios, like the newly opened team in Malaysia.
So while teams like Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, Sucker Punch, Insomniac, Media Molecule, and more buckle down and craft new experiences, we’re increasingly seeing support for older franchises turned over to other teams, just like Media Molecule handing off the torch on LittleBigPlanet and Sackboy, or Sucker Punch sending Sly Cooper over to Sanzaru for the fourth title. Sony knows that fans are ravenous for more of their favorite iconic franchises, but setting up Naughty Dog to work on another Uncharted after four mainline games and a smaller offshoot title takes them away from developing all-new and bold experiences. An experienced support studio can pick it up and run with it, while allowing the bigger studios to craft new worlds.
What do you want to see this secret San Diego studio working on bringing back? Do you think it’s more Uncharted? Is Sony reaching further back into its catalog of franchises? Let us know in the comments.
[Via: The PlayStation Brahs]