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Sony has officially confirmed its “reorganization” of Japan Studio, effective April 1. One of the oldest first-party teams within the platform owner’s stable will be restructured around the ASOBI team, the developer of the recent Astro game room, as well as Astro Bot. Rescue Mission and The Playroom VR.
A statement shared with IGN explains, “In an effort to further strengthen business operations, SIE can confirm that PlayStation Studios Japan Studio will be reorganized into a new organization on April 1. Japan Studio will be refocused on Team ASOBI, the creative team behind Astro’s Playroom, allowing the team to focus on a single vision and build on the popularity of Astro’s Playroom. “
More interestingly, the manufacturer has confirmed that all external production roles will be “concentrated in the overall functions of PlayStation Studios”. In addition to internal projects, Japan Studio is perhaps best known for his collaborations, such as Bloodborne (which he did with FromSoftware) and Everybody’s Golf (which he did with Clap-Hanz).
It’s an interesting turn of events but not entirely surprising – especially with the string of high-profile departures at the developer lately. Perhaps it’s interesting to note that in terms of purely in-house productions, Japan Studio’s production over the past five years has consisted of a Knack sequel, two LocoRoco remasters, and the aforementioned Astro Bot titles.
However, the developer’s back catalog is much more compelling, with legendary franchises like Ape Escape and Shadow of the Colossus. It’s also true that while they may not have been huge sellers, franchises like Gravity Rush have added much-needed diversity to PlayStation’s proprietary portfolio. It will be a shame to see this variety disappear.
Oddly enough, at a time when competitors are buying studios like toilet paper in a pandemic, Sony is seemingly growing return its operations. Obviously, quality is better than quantity, but here and now, that doesn’t seem like a particularly good example of the “organic growth” of PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, who has been talking about for about 18 months.
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