Some newly-surfaced concept art reportedly provides a first look at the shelved PlayStation live-service game from now-defunct developer Deviation Games. From the looks of it, Deviation Games' project shared a lot of similarities with another doomed PlayStation live-service title.
Back in summer 2021, Deviation Games announced that it was partnering with PlayStation to develop a PS5 live-service game based on a "groundbreaking" new IP. The studio was founded by Call of Duty veterans Jason Blundell and Dave Anthony, so Deviation Games held quite a bit of promise. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse for Deviation Games, as subsequent years saw Blundell exiting the studio, rumors of Sony retracting funding, layoffs, and ultimately, its closure in 2024.
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Nothing was known about the project Deviation Games was working on, and with the studio having been defunct for over a year, concrete details about its live-service game may never surface. However, MP1ST recently discovered a portfolio of a former Deviation Games artist, which reveals early concept art tied to the studio's canceled PS5 live-service game. One image features a massive cosmic background - likely intended for the game's start screen - that seemingly shows off the cloudy atmosphere of a planet and a huge ring of light encircling it, with a red moon in orbit. The overall aesthetic looks unmistakably very similar to that of Concord's CGI announcement trailer from 2023.
Deviation Games Could've Been Working on a Live-Service Sci-Fi Hero Shooter
Additionally, there are several detailed illustrations of weapons, including neon-lit pistols, a scoped rifle, and a high-tech "Power Glove," strongly hinting at Deviation Games' project being a futuristic sci-fi shooter with an emphasis on customization. Also included in the concept art is a character design labeled "Berserker," which, combined with the unique weapon concepts, suggests the game may have been a hero shooter akin to Overwatch 2 or Concord. The file timestamps, dated as far back as 2020, confirm that these assets were developed early in the game's production cycle.
Sony never officially confirmed why it backed away from Deviation Games, but the emergence of this concept art could imply that the PlayStation parent found the project to be too similar to Concord, and therefore didn't find it viable to continue funding the live-service game. Fortunately, there turned out to be light at the end of the tunnel for some former Deviation staff, as Blundell established Dark Outlaw Games - a new internal PlayStation studio - earlier this year. Dark Outlaw remains tight-lipped about what it's working on, which likely won't be known for a few more years at least, but it's good to know that many Deviation Games employees have a second chance.
