Sony is reportedly winding down internal game development at Japan Studio

Astro developer Asobi Team is reportedly unaffected though.

What you need to know

• Japan Studio is the oldest first-party team at Sony Worldwide Studios.
• According to VGC, this team is being downsized due to a lack of financial success, with internal game development slowing.
• Asobi Team, a group within Japan Studio that make the Astro games, are reportedly not affected.

According to a report from VGC, Sony is winding down internal game development at Japan Studio, the oldest first-party studio at Sony Worldwide Studios. The “vast majority” of the developers at the studio have reportedly been let go, though Asobi Team, the developers of the Astrobot games, will continue to function as normal.

Several key veterans from the studio left earlier in 2021 to begin Bokeh Game Studio, a new team working on a multiplatform horror game. It’s not clear if this downsizing also extends to the external development team, which has partnered on titles like the Demon’s Souls PS5 remake, which is widely considered one of the best PS5 games available.

Per VGC, this shift is because Japan Studio has not been profitable enough over the past few years, with the studio wanting to produce games locally for a Japanese audience while Sony wanted bigger games like its other first-party teams create.

Some of the other games that Japan Studio developed or supported development of in its history include the Siren franchise, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian, the Gravity Rush games, Bloodborne and more.

The remake

Demon’s Souls

• $70 at Amazon
• $70 at Best Buy
• $70 at GameStop

The one that started it all

If you like Souls-like then you have Demon’s Souls to thank. If you want to play this cult classic, you soon will be able to thanks to a PS5 remake that launched with the console. It’s available to purchase now.