Sony Closes First-Party PlayStation Studio

PlayStation has decided to close Manchester VR, its first-party studio in the UK that was working on an unannounced PlayStation VR project. As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, PlayStation made this decision "to close it as part of our efforts to improve efficiency and operational effectiveness." Manchester VR was formed in 2015 to specifically work on VR games. It never released a game, and has now become the third UK studio PlayStation has closed in the PS4 generation. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-vr-game-nominees&captions=true"] In 2016, PlayStation closed MotorStorm and Driveclub's Evolution Studio and, in 2017, it shut down Killzone: Mercenary and RIGS: Mechanized Combat League's Guerrilla Cambridge. PlayStation still has two studios operating in the UK, Dreams developer Media Molecule and the team behind Blood & Truth, London Studio. Even though it has shut down this VR-focused studio, PlayStation remains committed to PSVR, and it already confirmed that it will be backward compatible for the PlayStation 5. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/11/30/9-unforgettable-ps-vr-experiences"] Beat Saber, which is available on PSVR, won our Best VR Game of 2019, and beat out other PSVR titles as Blood and Truth, Ghost Giant, and Trover Saves The Universe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.