Sony’s Firesprite takes over Twisted Metal, as Motorstorm director is hired

PlayStation’s newly acquired Firesprite studio has taken over Lucid Games’ unannounced Twisted Metal reboot and poached its game director, VGC understands.

VGC reported earlier this week that Destruction All Stars studio Lucid had ceased development on a reboot of the classic car combat series.

We now understand that UK-based Firesprite – which was acquired by Sony last year – is the developer which has taken over the Twisted Metal project.

It’s unclear why Sony decided to move the project to its new first-party studio, but it’s worth noting that Lucid and Firesprite are located barely 15 minutes from each other in Liverpool, UK – and there’s now evidence of staff moving over.

As spotted by a Restera user, Matt Southern – the director of various Motorstorm games, plus the original pitcher for Drive Club – has this month left his role as game director at Lucid to take on the same role at Firesprite.

It’s unclear if Southern was working on Lucid’s Twisted Metal project or if he’ll be working on the franchise at his new employer. Firesprite has multiple projects in production, including the newly-announced PlayStation VR2 game, Horizon Call of the Mountain.

Sony announced in September 2020 that it had acquired Firesprite, a studio established in 2012 by former members of SIE Studio Liverpool, after it was closed down by the platform holder.

Prior to its acquisition, Firesprite had been recruiting for two titles: a multiplayer shooter and “a dark, narrative adventure with genre-defining goals”.

PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst said at the time of the Firesprite acquisition: “After a number of years closely collaborating on several games together, including The Playroom (PS4) and The Playroom VR (PS VR), I couldn’t be more delighted to welcome Firesprite to the PlayStation Studios family as our 14th studio.

“Firesprite is a creative and ambitious studio that is exceptional at building incredible experiences that truly showcase the potential of our hardware.

“The team’s technical and creative capabilities will be paramount to growing our stellar catalogue of exclusive games, and I think you’ll be excited for what’s to come.”

It’s understood Sony intends to bring back the Twisted Metal game series in time to coincide with an upcoming TV series in 2023.

While our sources did not provide an explanation for the change of the game’s developer, one person suggested the poor reception to Lucid’s PS5 title Destruction All-Stars could have contributed to the decision.

Sony expressed its commitment to the Twisted Metal franchise earlier this month, when it reiterated on stage at CES 2022 that a TV series is in development and displayed artwork on screen.

The Twisted Metal television project was officially announced in May 2019 and is in the works at Sony’s PlayStation Productions movie and TV studio.