Sony’s London Studio is working on an ‘online co-op combat game’ set in fantasy London
The title is being built specifically for PlayStation 5 with the developer’s Soho Engine
Sony’s London Studio has announced its next game, an untitled online co-op combat game set in a fantasy London.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, co-studio head Tara Saunders claimed the title was being built specifically for PlayStation 5 with the developer’s Soho Engine.
“It is our most ambitious game to-date,” Saunders said. “We’re going to take all of that innovation DNA and apply that into this online co-op combat game.
“[In our concept art] you’re seeing a take on a modern fantasy London. Our overarching theme is about bringing fantastical and magical elements and intersecting that with familiar worlds, and you don’t get much more familiar to us than London.”
London Studio is historically known for utilising peripherals such as the Singstar Microphone, Buzz button controller or PlayStation VR, so a more traditional game is a unique venture for the studio.
“We are proud of the history and innovation that we’ve done over the years, supporting all sorts of PlayStation technology, whether that’s VR, or AR, or microphones, or whatever,” said co-studio head Stuart Whyte.
“With this project, we really wanted to explore some new avenues and set ourselves some new challenges. We definitely wanted to try something a little bit different, and I think this new project really channels our ‘brave’ value and allows us to push ourselves on the ‘curious’ front, too. It’s an exciting future, it really is.”
While the unnamed game is not a VR title, Whyte told GI.biz the project will still utilise tools and expertise gained making games such as Blood & Truth and PlayStation VR Worlds.
“Our Soho Engine, our in-house game engine, is at the heart of what we’re doing here,” he said. “This is an engine that was built from the ground-up for this generation of hardware and the needs of the game that we’re making. It’s designed to take full advantage of the PS5.
“But it’s fair to say that some of the toolset that we’re using dates back to the VR Worlds and Blood & Truth tech that we had on PS4. Because at the end of the day, VR games need to have super-efficient pipelines and engines.”
Further reading
Sony is building a new dev team to work with Visual Arts and Naughty Dog on a ‘AAA’ title
London Studio’s online combat game comes amid Sony Interactive Entertainment’s new push into live service games.
The PlayStation firm said in May that it’s planning to have 12 live service titles in the market by its fiscal year ending in March 2026 – up from three during the current business year.
