Evolution Studios, the company behind the troubled racing game DriveClub, has been shut down by Sony.
The British game developer, which was founded in 1999, has been shut down by Sony after 55 cuts were made to the studio just last year. The company notoriously struggled with the release of DriveClub, which was initially touted to join the PS4’s launch line-up before facing a lengthy delay, with it suffering from lingering server issues that soured many on what Sony had claimed would be the next major racing IP.
However, Evolution Studios had greater success with its World Rally Championship and Motorstorm series, with the latter being used to champion the power of the PS3 prior to that console’s launch. Evolution remained a loyal first-party studio since their first game release in 2001, but today Sony revealed in a statement that their working relationship has now come to an end with the company’s closure.
The statement reads:
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.
Hopefully the talented team at Evolution Studios finds work with another developer in the near future. We wish them all the best.
