Firesprite

Last updated

Firesprite
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Video games
Founded2012;12 years ago (2012)
Headquarters
Liverpool
,
England
Key people
  • Graeme Ankers
  • Lee Carus
  • Chris Roberts
  • Stuart Tilley
  • Stuart Lovegrove
ServicesVideo game development
Number of employees
265 (2021) [1]
Parent PlayStation Studios (2021–present)
Subsidiaries Fabrik Games
Website Official website

Firesprite is a British video game developer formed in 2012 by former members of Studio Liverpool based in Liverpool. [2] [3] [4] In September 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired the company, making them a first-party developer for PlayStation Studios.

Contents

History

Firesprite was founded in 2012 by Graeme Ankers as managing director, Lee Carus as art director, Chris Roberts as technical director, Stuart Tilley as game director, and Stuart Lovegrove as programming director. The studio is staffed by some developers that were part of Psygnosis and the five people in the studio's core leadership team have worked on games for every PlayStation console[ citation needed ]. Psygnosis was mostly known for the Wipeout series.

In 2013, the team worked on the visuals of one of the launch titles for the PlayStation 4, an augmented reality tech demo, The Playroom . Run Sackboy! Run! followed on mobile devices in 2014 and received mixed reviews. [5] Again in collaboration with SIE Japan Studio, and one of the launch titles for PlayStation VR, The Playroom VR was created "in Japan Studio by the same team that brought you The Playroom on PS4" and released in 2016. [6]

Following up in May 2019 it was announced that an update would be released soon for The Persistence . Launching as a free update for owners of the game, the Complete Edition will bring The Persistence to flat-screen TVs for the first time. [7]

In March 2021, the company announced a partnership with Cloud Imperium Games to work on Theaters of War (working title), a large scale combined arms multiplayer game mode in development for their game Star Citizen . [8] Their partnership started in early 2019 after Cloud Imperium outlined their vision for the game mode, [8] but in April 2022, development of Theaters of War was transferred back to an internal Cloud Imperium vehicle tech team. According to Tyler Witkin in a Spectrum post, "work with Firesprite has ended." [9]

In September 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it had acquired the studio. [10] Later in the month Sony acquired Fabrik Games "in connection with Firesprite joining PlayStation Studios”, [11] bringing the studio's headcount to 265. [1] In February 2024, it was reported that layoffs were taking place at Firesprite in conjunction with Sony's cuts across the company. The studio's previously unrevealed Twisted Metal live service game was also cancelled. [12]

On February 29, 2024, Eurogamer published an investigation into Firesprite that found the company had devolved into a chaotic and toxic work environment. After the acquisition by Sony, crunch was implemented in order to finish Horizon Call of the Mountain and staff left in droves following a retention bonus payout in October 2023. Once all but one of the original founders left the studio, executives from Sony's XDev support studio took over. Multiple employees reported the studio's new leadership for sexual discrimination and ageism, but allegations were reportedly dismissed by Sony. [13]

Games developed

TitleYearPlatformsNote(s)
The Playroom 2013 PlayStation 4 with PlayStation Camera Additional work
Run Sackboy! Run! 2014 PlayStation Vita, Android, iOS
Air Force Special Ops: Nightfall2017 PlayStation 4 with PlayStation VR
The Persistence 2018 PlayStation 4 with PlayStation VR, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
Horizon Call of the Mountain 2023PlayStation 5 with PlayStation VR2 Co-developed with Guerrilla Games
Star Citizen TBAMicrosoft WindowsTheaters of War mode, co-developed with CIG

Related Research Articles

Wipeout is a series of futuristic anti-gravity racing video games developed by Studio Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sony Interactive Entertainment</span> Sonys software company

Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment company of Sony. Jointly established by two subsidiaries in 2016, it primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game consoles and products. It is also the world's largest company in the video game industry based on its equity investments.

Ian Hetherington was a British businessman who co-founded video games developer Psygnosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CCP Games</span> Icelandic video game developer

CCP hf., doing business as CCP Games, is an Icelandic video game developer based in Reykjavík. Novator Partners and General Catalyst had previously collectively owned a majority stake in the company, and in September 2018, CCP was acquired by South Korean video game publisher Pearl Abyss for $425 million. CCP Games is best known for developing Eve Online, which was released in 2003 and has since been maintained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jade Raymond</span> Canadian video game creator (born 1975)

Jade Raymond is a Canadian video game producer, best known for helping create the Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs franchises, as well as building Ubisoft Toronto and Motive Studio. In March 2021, Raymond announced the founding of a new independent development team called Haven Studios, which was later acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in July 2022, making them a first-party developer for PlayStation Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution Studios</span> British video game developer, 1999–2016

Evolution Studios Ltd. was a British video game developer based in Runcorn, Cheshire. The company was founded in 1999 by Martin Kenwright and Ian Hetherington, following the purchase of their studio Digital Image Design's publisher Ocean Software by Infogrames. Kenwright then left Digital Image Design with six members of staff to form Evolution Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psygnosis</span> British video game company, 1984–2012

Psygnosis Limited was a British video game developer and publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Hetherington, Jonathan Ellis, and David Lawson, the company initially became known for well-received games on the Atari ST and Amiga. In 1993, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and began developing games for the original PlayStation. It later became a part of SCE Worldwide Studios. The company was the oldest and second largest development house within SCE's European stable of developers, and became best known for franchises such as Lemmings, Wipeout, Formula One, and Colony Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Studio</span> British video game developer

London Studio was a British video game developer based in London. Founded in 2002, it was a first-party studio for PlayStation Studios. The studio was best known for developing the SingStar series, as well as games for PlayStation's external peripherals including the EyeToy camera and the PlayStation VR virtual reality headset. The studio created more than 60 titles since it was established.

Pivotal Games Limited was a British video game developer based in Corston, England.

<i>LittleBigPlanet</i> (2008 video game) 2008 video game

LittleBigPlanet is a 2008 platform game developed by Media Molecule and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, and is the first game of the LittleBigPlanet franchise. The level editor is the main focus of the game, allowing the player to create levels and publish them online. The player controls Sackboy, a customizable ragged doll with the ability to create. Story mode consists of pre-made levels built around Sackboy's basic control scheme, and they are grouped into areas, each centering around a theme; the story revolves Sackboy helping various Creator Curators around LittleBigPlanet before facing the Collector, who has been kidnapping and stealing creations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media Molecule</span> British video game developer

Media Molecule Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Guildford, Surrey. Founded in 2006 by Mark Healey, Alex Evans, David Smith, and Kareem Ettouney, Sony Computer Entertainment acquired the firm in 2010. It became part of SCE Worldwide Studios. The company is best known for developing the LittleBigPlanet series, 2013's Tearaway, and 2020's Dreams for PlayStation consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team Bondi</span> Australian video game developer

Team Bondi Pty. Limited was an Australian video game developer based in Sydney. The company was founded by creative director Brendan McNamara, formerly of Team Soho, in 2003. The studio's first and only title, the action-adventure game L.A. Noire, was announced in July 2005. The development was originally funded and overseen by Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, although all publishing duties later switched hands to Rockstar Games. L.A. Noire was released by Rockstar Games, initially for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in May 2011, to both commercial and critical success. Despite the positive reception, Team Bondi faced several allegations of poor working conditions by several former employees, causing controversy for the studio and leading Rockstar Games to part ways with Team Bondi following L.A. Noire's release. As a result of this, the developer saw itself unable to sign a publishing deal for a new game that was being written by McNamara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PlayStation Studios</span> Group of video game developers owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment

PlayStation Studios is a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was established as SCE Worldwide Studios in September 2005 and rebranded as PlayStation Studios in 2020.

<i>The Playroom</i> (2013 video game) 2013 casual video game

The Playroom is a casual video game that is a collection of augmented reality mini-games. It was developed by Japan Studio's Team Asobi division, comes pre-loaded on all PlayStation 4 consoles, and is meant to demonstrate the use of the PlayStation Camera and the DualShock 4 controller. The PlayStation Camera accessory is required to play The Playroom. If a camera is not present, a trailer for The Playroom will be displayed instead of the full game. Firesprite, a studio founded by former employees of Studio Liverpool, worked on the visuals of The Playroom. Downloadable content is free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Kenwright</span> British video game designer

Martin Kenwright is a British video game designed and the founder of British-based virtual and augmented reality innovation company vTime Limited, digital media, entertainment and technology company Starship, and video game development studios Digital Image Design (DID) and Evolution Studios. He created seminal computer games such as F29 Retaliator and EF2000. He is also responsible for the World Rally Championship franchise and PlayStation 3 launch title, MotorStorm, along with its respective franchise.

Supermassive Games Ltd is a British video game developer based in Guildford, Surrey. The studio is best known for developing horror games such as Until Dawn for Sony Interactive Entertainment, The Dark Pictures Anthology for Bandai Namco Entertainment, and The Quarry for 2K Games.

Team Asobi is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. A first-party studio for Sony Interactive Entertainment, Team Asobi was originally formed in 2012 as part of Japan Studio, but formally spun off into an independent studio within Sony's PlayStation Studios in April 2021.

<i>The Persistence</i> 2018 video game

The Persistence is a survival horror video game developed and published by Firesprite. Originally released for the virtual reality headset PlayStation VR in July 2018, the game was released for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One in May 2020. An Enhanced version of the game was released for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S in June 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 "Firesprite acquires Fabrik Games". Gamesindustry.biz. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. ↑ Hing, David. "SCE Liverpool devs form Firesprite". bit-gamer. bit-tech. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  3. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (6 December 2013). "From the ashes of WipEout dev Studio Liverpool rises Firesprite". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Firesprite: Sony's Studio Liverpool Lives Again". 5 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Run Sackboy! Run!". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 June 2023. Mixed or Average
  6. ↑ "25 fun facts about the Playroom VR (Warning: Contains bird poop)". 30 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Persistence: Complete Edition". playstation.com. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Cloud Imperium Games and Firesprite Unveil Development Partnership for Star Citizen Multiplayer Mode". Firesprite. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Spectrum - v6.8.2". Spectrum. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "Why PlayStation is buying Firesprite, one of the UK's fastest growing studios". Gamesindustry.biz. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  11. ↑ Editor, Marie Dealessandri Deputy (29 September 2021). "Firesprite acquires Fabrik Games". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 7 June 2023.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ↑ Schreier, Jason (27 February 2024). "Sony Cuts 900 Jobs in Gaming, Shuts Down a London Division". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  13. ↑ Nightingale, Ed (29 February 2024). "Sony studio Firesprite has been shedding talent amidst accusations of toxic culture, staff say". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.