Report filed by Rakan Stanbouly
Today Liverpool Studios, creators of the Wipeout and Formula One series, has officially been closed down. The rumors of this closure began as a small post on GR Arcade forums, and progressed until the point where Sony released the following statement (after the jump).
“As part of SCE Worldwide Studios…we have reviewed and assessed all current and planned projects for the short and medium term and have decided to make some changes to our European Studios. It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation…Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements.”
The facility located in Liverpool will remain open, but as housing for “a number of other vital WWS!E and SCEE Departments.”
Liverpool Studios Sandy Lobban took to Twitter, expressing his deep gratitude towards the company, stating “End of an era today for Studio Liverpool. Honoured to have been a part of it.”
Having held many names over the past few decades, Liverpool Studios has been mainly known for their Wipeout series, it’s most recent release being Wipeout 2048 on the Playstation Vita. Sony Worldwide has yet to announce any plans for further investments for the IP. Eurogamer reports that the studio had been working on four separate Playstation 4 launch titles, including one in the vein of Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell stealth-action franchise, before its closure.
(via Giantbomb)