Studio Liverpool (aka Psygnosis) Closes Its Doors

It’s been a real cruddy week for nostalgic gamers.  First came the closure of the Nintendo Power publication, and now one of the more beloved game publishers from the PS One/PS2 eras is closing its doors.

It was announced this morning that Studio Liverpool, the studio behind such games as Lemmings, Colony Wars and, most recently, the WipeOut racing games, has closed its doors, as a request by Sony.  It’s part of their overall restructuring for international studios, though further plans weren’t yet revealed.  The company was working on a new WipeOut game for the next PlayStation game, and that’s still expected to release sometime down the road.

The following statement was made by Sony:

“As part of SCE Worldwide Studios, we do regular reviews to ensure that the resources we have can create and produce high quality, innovative, and commercially viable projects in an increasingly competitive market place. As part of this process, we have reviewed and assessed all current and planned projects for the short- and medium-term and have decided to make some changes to our European Studios.

“It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed.  Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements.

“However, it was felt that by focusing our investment plans on other Studios that are currently working on exciting new projects, we would be in a stronger position to offer the best possible content for our consumers.

“Our Liverpool Facility will continue to operate, housing a number of other vital WWS!E and SCEE Departments.

“This should not take anything away from the great work WWS are doing and the incredible games and services that we have made, and continue to make, both for this coming year and further in the future.”

We hope the team members at Liverpool land on their feet.  We’ll have a tribute article soon.