Call of Duty Zombies dev starts new studio with 2 failed PlayStation collabs behind him, just 1 week after Sony shut down his last project: "Third time's the charm"

Former Call of Duty producer Jason Blundell has about as much intention to stay dead as the zombies he helped shape for developer Treyarch. It's only been a week since Sony suddenly closed his last studio, Dark Outlaw Games, and the FPS legend is already back with another one.

Blundell just announced Magic Fractal Studios alongside former Dark Outlaw dev and YouTuber JCbackfire, who says during a new stream, "I really am excited for the future." In addition to Sony closing Dark Outlaw last week and laying off 50 of its staff working on a fresh AAA IP, Blundell's first venture, PlayStation partner Deviation Games, flatlined in 2024.

"Third time's the charm," Blundell hopes. "And if not, it's the fourth time."

JCbackfire, who's been working with Blundell in some capacity since he was 19, affirms that, "We definitely are going to try our best to make a damn video game. Whatever it takes." Magic Fractal's official Twitter account and website are currently both empty, and neither Blundell nor JCbackfire wants to give any hints as to what might eventually fill them.

"I'm trying to be careful what I say a little bit," JCbackfire explains on stream, "but I just love that we were able to make that [Twitter] account."

I can't fault him for his excitement. Devs are right to celebrate their small wins, even if they take place on a website as unholy as X-formerly-Twitter. Everything else is in ruin – studios are collapsing, talented developers are getting laid off by the thousands, and none of us ever seems to have any money.

It's a difficult time to do anything, including convincing investors they need another expensive video game. But it only seems fair that Blundell's stubborn persistence and goodwill from fans over his Zombies work should bring the developer a win. Eventually.

PlayStation and Xbox's most-played games of 2025 were the same as 2024's in the US, data suggests, with newcomers unable to dethrone the likes of Fortnite, Roblox, and GTA 5.