PlayStation Shuts Down New Shooter Studio Founded by Former Call of Duty Director

Jason Blundell’s PlayStation studio, Dark Outlaw Games, has officially been closed, as announced internally by Sony. The veteran developer, renowned for his contributions to the Call of Duty Zombies franchise, was brought on to establish the studio after a previous project of his, part of a publishing deal with Deviation Games, was canceled.

In an interview a year ago, Blundell expressed his excitement about creating a new studio within PlayStation Studios. “The studio is called Dark Outlaw. We’ve been working away in the shadows for a while; when we’ve got something to talk about, we’ll step out into the light,” he shared. He also noted the honor of launching a first-party studio, highlighting how rare such opportunities are with Sony.

However, Sony has increasingly been shutting down studios, with Dark Outlaw Games’ closure following closely on the heels of Bluepoint Games being shuttered. This adds to a growing list of troubled acquisitions during the PlayStation 5 era.

Before establishing Dark Outlaw Games, Blundell co-founded Deviation Games to develop a live-service title backed by Sony. Reports indicated that the initial budget for that project exceeded $200 million, but funding was later withdrawn by Sony amid a tumultuous development process, leading to the eventual collapse of that startup in 2024.

This situation is still unfolding.