Sony is shutting down Concrete Genie studio PixelOpus

Sony studio PixelOpus has announced that it will be closing down.

In a tweet posted on Friday the California-based studio wrote: “Dear friends, our PixelOpus adventure has come to an end.

“As we look to new futures, we wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to the millions of passionate players who have supported us, and our mission to make beautiful, imaginative games with heart. We are so grateful.”

The studio was founded in 2014 and launched its first game, Entwined, later that year. The game was announced as a surprise during Sony’s E3 conference and was made available the same day.

This was followed up by painting-based adventure game Concrete Genie in 2019, which was nominated for numerous awards including two BAFTA Game Awards.

It was announced in June 2021 that PixelOpus’ third game was going to be a PS5 title developed in collboration with Sony Pictures Animation. It’s not clear if this project is still active.

Speaking of the studio’s closure, PixelOpus’ senior environment artist Bob Archibald tweeted: “I like to think that with Concrete Genie we made the world an ever-so-slightly better place, and not too many games these days have the chance to try and do that.

“I will always be grateful for my time building imaginative worlds with this incredible team.”

In a statement to IGN, Sony said: “PlayStation Studios regularly evaluates its portfolio and the status of studio projects to ensure they meet the organization’s short and long-term strategic objectives.

“As part of a recent review process, it has been decided that PixelOpus will close on June 2.”