Evolution Studios, the developer behind franchises like World Rally Championship and MotorStorm, has been shut down by Sony. The company’s most recent project, DriveClub was in trouble right from release having seen delays and online problems so this might not come as a surprise to many. 55 people had been cut from Evolution just one year ago and now, Sony has made the tough decision to make the rest of the Evolution staff redundant.
In the complete statement, which you can read below, Sony said it would try to reallocate some of the Evolution team to other studios, but the company’s aware that it may also lose some serious talent.
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.
We can only hope that those affected by the closure can find work quickly as they are all a bunch of really talented folks despite what many might think. Good luck to them all!