Sony has revealed a new developer that’s joined PlayStation Studios, originating from Bungie and working on a new team-based action game.
The studio, teamLFG, comprises industry veterans from the Destiny and Halo studio, as well as developers from League of Legends, Fortnite, Roblox, and newcomers.
Last year, Bungie laid off 220 staff, representing roughly 17 percent of its workforce. At the time, Bungie CEO Pete Parsons stated one of its early-development projects would be moved to PlayStation Studios to form a new studio.
“The ‘LFG’ in ‘teamLFG’ stands for ‘Looking For Group’,” explains a message from the studio on the PlayStation Blog (as opposed to “let’s f**king go”).
“We are driven by a mission to create games where players can find friendship, community, and belonging. We want our players to feel excited when they log on to discover their teammates already hanging out online. We want our players to recognise familiar names and to make myths and memes out of each other. We want our players to love remembering that one time where they pulled off That Play that changed the whole story of the match. As we say on the team – dat’s da good stuff.”
The studio will make “immersive multiplayer worlds propelled by action games that players can learn, play, and master for countless hours,” the message continues, adding player communities will be invited to early access playtests as part of the studio’s development process.
“It’s critical that we stay nimble enough to react to player feedback, not just in our lead-up to launch, but throughout live service as we continue to grow the game and community for years to come,” the studio said.
“Our first game is a team-based action game that draws inspiration from fighting games, platformers, MOBAs, life sims, and frog-type games. Players will inhabit a lighthearted, comedic world set in brand-new, mythic, science-fantasy universe.”
Presumably, this game is the rumoured Gummy Bears that leaked earlier this year.
PlayStation has certainly struggled with live-service games in the past couple of years.
Back in 2022, the company aimed to launch over 10 new live service games by March 2026, as part of a strategy from former Sony exec Jim Ryan.
However, Concord was a high profile failure for the company, and at the start of this year two live service projects were cancelled, resulting in further layoffs.
Sony announced it would acquire Bungie in February 2022 for $3.6bn, partly with the intention of it supporting the company’s live-service ambitions.
It would appear teamLFG’s new project will showcase the results of that acquisition, alongside Bungie’s forthcoming multiplayer shooter Marathon.