First-party PlayStation game code-named Gummy Bears is reportedly entering pre-alpha testing. This purported turn of events attaches some new context to the project's development status and reinforces PlayStation's continued commitment to pursuing live-service bets in spite of some costly recent failures.
Gummy Bears started as an incubator project at Bungie that the studio first acknowledged via an August 2023 recruitment tweet. At the time, the company announced it as a title inspired by everything from MOBAs and fighting games to life sims, platformers, and "frog-type games," without elaborating on the matter. In July 2024, Bungie announced it was laying off over 200 people, while also reassigning around 150 staffers to other divisions within Sony Interactive Entertainment, which purchased the studio in July 2022 to the tune of $3.6 billion. The move paved the way for the Gummy Bears developers to be spun off into their own studio, teamLFG, which Sony officially announced in May 2025.
After Live-Service Reality Check, PlayStation Is Rethinking Risk
Following the failure of Concord and multiple live-service game cancellations, PlayStation is rethinking some of its core business practices.
New Evidence Points to Gummy Bears Entering Pre-Alpha Testing
Several months later, teamLFG appears to be looking to add a "staff community developer" to its ranks, according to a job listing spotted by The Game Post. The description of the opening mentions that the company is preparing pre-alpha community testing for its upcoming title. While community managers at game developers often act as spokespeople, this particular role is described as "more of a 'Behind-the-Scenes Architect'" who will help create "out-of-game" events and systems fostering engagement. Details aside, the main takeaway from the listing is that the teamLFG is preparing to open the game to pre-alpha testers mere months after it was officially announced as the latest addition to the PlayStation Studios family.
Gummy Bears Pre-Alpha Will Reportedly Be Discord-Centric
The posting emphasizes Discord as the hub for the project's early community-building, mentioning responsibilities that include server structure, event planning, policy creation, and bot integrations. The ideal candidate would be able to make all of those from scratch, with the ultimate goal being to facilitate healthy communities that self-regulate. These details point to the Gummy Bears pre-alpha testing being centered on Discord, which is fairly typical for modern games, especially those requiring significant player feedback and offering non-professional testers a chance to play them during development.
Gummy Bears Release May Be Years Away
Looking at the big picture, the implication of Gummy Bears entering pre-alpha testing soon suggests that the game could be around halfway through its pre-release development cycle. If a pre-alpha test starts before the end of 2025, a proper alpha could materialize as early as 2026, with a beta to follow in 2027. Assuming no major hiccups take place, this could pave the way for the title to hit the market circa late 2027 or early 2028, based on typical modern game development timelines involving medium-scale projects (prior reports suggested teamLFG had around 40 people in early 2025). Even if the developer maintains its radio silence on the game for the time being, the upcoming start of the pre-alpha phase could result in some leaks, at least in the form of more Gummy Bears gameplay descriptions if not actual footage.
With teamLFG being a Sony-owned studio, its first game is guaranteed to release for PlayStation consoles. Gummy Bears was recently also rumored to be in the works for the Switch, but if it's only now entering pre-alpha, any potential Nintendo release would likely only target the significantly more powerful Switch 2.
Source: Bungie / Twitter
