Newly shut down PlayStation studio Dark Outlaw wasn't making a live service game

Sony recently shut down another first-party PlayStation studio, but this time the team wasn't working on a live service game.

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Earlier today we reported on the closure of Dark Outlaw Games, a first-party studio that Sony started with ex-Call of Duty alum Jason Blundell back in 2025. Details on Dark Outlaw and the game that they were working on are still somewhat sparse, but it's been revealed in a recent livestream with two former devs--including Blundell himself--that the game wasn't actually an online-driven live service title.

It was previously believed that the project was multiplayer-oriented in scope, given Blundell's prior experience with online games. Sony has pulled the plug on multiple live titles, most famously Concord, which was taken offline quite soon after launch, as well as cancelling other games like a God of War live title and The Last of Us multiplayer. While the scope and overall genre of what Dark Outlaw was working on still remains a mystery, it's interesting to note that Sony scrapped a studio that had been developing something more traditional.

Here's a quick transcription from a clip captured from Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach.

JC: "I loved the type of project we were working on. It wasn't a live service game."

Blundell: "Nope."

JC: "Personally, I was really stoked about making something focused and just something I really wanted to make. I wish I could talk more about it.

Blundell: "Yeah, we have to respect that."

JC: "It was....again, the team dynamic is the thing I'm going to miss, I think. And I would do anything to get that back. We're being a little crazy going on a live stream immediately the next day."

Blundell: "And you know, for those people going back into the industry, I think it's really important to say what class-act, high professionals we were working with. But the loss is not only the friends who we were working with, wow, we got to work with such skilled craftspeople. And they're going out now to do other stuff, and I gotta get them all back again."

Sony's next earnings briefing goes live in May, and we could hear more details about its new revised project slate as well as an update on the live service content plans.