Japan Studio May Be Winding Down Development of First Party Games Due to Low Profits, Here’s Some Advice: Make a New Wild Arms!

There’s been speculation that Sony’s Japan Studio is winding down development after a series of developers have announced their departure from the studio. Known for games such as Ape Escape and Gravity Rush, the developer’s recent hits have been in partnership with other developers, seeing as they did help with the development of Demon’s Souls on PlayStation 5.

However, if these reports are true, the Wild Arms developer may be shut down or at least reduced in size due to low profits. VGchronicles added that sources have said a majority of their staff will be let go “after their annual contracts were not renewed ahead of the company’s next business year, which begins April 1.”

There’s been a group of developers announced their departure recently, including Bloodborne producer Masaaki Yamagiwa and video manager Ryo Sogabe, who have stated that they will be leaving at the end of February.

With these low profits, I’m curious to know why Sony doesn’t greenlight some of the more sought-after series that the developer is known for. While their focus is heavily on western gamers, the developer has largely stepped away from the JRPGs and niche adventure games. We have Knack, but we could always use more.

If this is true, we hope that all of the developers find good homes and continue to follow their dreams.