After rumors of a closure started popping up on the internet earlier today, Sony has officially confirmed that Leamington Spa-based Bigbig Studios, developer of the Vita launch title Little Deviants, has been shut down. Bigbig's catalog goes back to the PSP, where the developer released Motorstorm: Arctic Edge and served as a developer on the Pursuit Force series.
The closure won't be effecting the soon-to-be-released launch title, as it is already completed, and will be included as a pack-in on some PS Vita bundles. Sony has commented that the closure will allow it to focus on “on other studios that are currently working on exciting new projects."
Other news comes from Sony’s Cambridge division, which is also seeing some restructuring. Cambridge will be partnering with Guerilla Games, developer of the Killzone series, likely to work on Killzone games for the PS Vita. Cambridge has experience with bringing console games to handhelds, and was responsible for the LittleBigPlanet PSP that came out a few years back, so it makes sense that Sony would move that talent instead of shutting the company down outright.
No word yet on the actual headcount from the closures and layoffs, though we're hoping it isn't as bad as it sounds, and that the developers find some new work (likely within other Sony studios) in the near future.
