PlayStation has signed a deal to publish a new multiplayer game from former Destiny veterans.
The announcement of the deal between PlayStation and Firewalk Studios came earlier today. PlayStation revealed that the debut game from Firewalk Studios, which is part of the ProbablyMonsters collective of studios, will be a AAA multiplayer game, spearheaded by former Destiny developers.
A new AAA multiplayer IP is underway from PlayStation and the veteran developers at @FirewalkStudio. Details on the new partnership: https://t.co/JigyQ1R5i0 pic.twitter.com/u5L5HeXCGgApril 22, 2021
Over on the PlayStation Blog, Firewalk Studios studio head Tony Hsu revealed that Firewalk Studios was established back in 2018. So far, the development team at the new studio is headed by the likes of Ryan Ellis, former creative director on Destiny, Elena Seigman, executive producer on games like Guitar Hero and BioShock Infinite, and many others who've had hands in launching multiplayer games like Apex Legends.
A new AAA multiplayer IP is something of a departure from PlayStation, which has recently focused primarily on publishing single-player narrative games like God of War, The Last of Us 2, and Ghost of Tsushima, among others. PlayStation head of studios Herman Hulst told GamesIndustry.biz he's "very interested in creating a diverse slate of titles," adding that Firewalk Studios has a "very strong, autonomous and [...] fiercely daring team."
Right now, Firewalk Studios' debut game will be a PlayStation platform exclusive, being developed specifically for the PS5. There's no word yet on whether the game will be coming to the PC or the PS4, although the latter is looking unlikely given the wording of the GamesIndustry.biz article specifying the PS5 exclusivity.
This is the second independent game developer that PlayStation has signed a publishing deal with this year so far. Last month, the company announced that it had signed a publishing deal with Haven, a new Montreal studio headed by veteran developer Jade Raymond, founded shortly after her departure from Google. Like Firewalk Studios, Haven is developing an entirely new IP for PlayStation.
For a look at all the other games PlayStation is publishing over the coming months, head over to our upcoming PS5 games guide for more.
