Yesterday, it was announced that Sony made the decision to shut down Bluepoint Games, and God of War creator David Jaffe is sounding the alarm for Xbox to step in. Over the years, Bluepoint Games has built a reputation as being one of Sony's go-to studios for great remasters and remakes, making the shut-down that much more surprising.
Two of Bluepoint Games' most notable works are the remakes of Shadow of the Colossus in 2018 and Demon's Souls, which launched in 2020. Both remakes were met with praise from both critics and players. Beyond these remakes, Bluepoint Games was responsible for developing the God of War Collection, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, and Gravity Rush Remastered. Sony shutting down Bluepoint Games is unexpected, and David Jaffe is hoping Xbox will swoop in.
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God of War Creator David Jaffe Wants Xbox to Buy Bluepoint Games
Jaffe took to Twitter soon after the announcement to bring up the idea that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer should save Bluepoint Games from being shut down. He even directly tagged Spencer in the post. At the end of the tweet, Jaffe summarized his plea by saying, "This isn't hard. Do NOT let this amazing team splinter." Phil Spencer is one of the most powerful members of Microsoft Gaming, so deciding to buy Bluepoint definitely isn't impossible. However, it also seems unlikely, especially after the controversial few years that Microsoft Gaming has had.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Microsoft Has Also Been Canceling Games and Shutting Down Studios
In recent years, multiple games that were being developed under the Microsoft Gaming umbrella ended up being abruptly canceled. Stopping production on a number of games was shocking enough, but a variety of studios were closed down alongside these projects, too. In 2024, Microsoft shut down Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, and Alpha Dog Games. Tango Gameworks was eventually bought by Krafton, but the latter two studios were not as lucky. Last year, the in-development Everwild and the long-awaited Perfect Dark remake were canceled. Perfect Dark's developer, The Initiative, was even shut down as a result of the cancellation. When replying to fellow Twitter users, Jaffe even mentioned that Perfect Dark could be a good game for Bluepoint Games to take on as its next project.
Microsoft's controversial layoffs over the past few years have ignited a lot of backlash. A lot of responses to Jaffe's tweet were quick to point out Microsoft's recent track record of mass layoffs. Now, this trend doesn't mean that Microsoft wouldn't consider buying Bluepoint Games, it just makes it a less likely scenario. Also, with Microsoft introducing Muse, a generative AI model "that can generate game visuals," there's growing worry that these layoffs are part of potential plans to lean more into AI-assisted video game development. If that's the case, then buying Bluepoint Games is probably even less of a possibility.
Right now, it's unclear what will happen to the team at Bluepoint Games. Another company coming in and buying the celebrated developer definitely isn't off the table at the moment, but it would be surprising. No matter what happens, though, the legacy of Bluepoint Games will live on as a shining point in the industry. Remastering and remaking games is no easy feat. The new life that Bluepoint Games was able to breathe into Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls was truly impressive. They're still some of the best video game remakes of all time. The news of Sony's shut-down is still fresh, so the story is still evolving. It would be great if Bluepoint Games could find a new home with Xbox, but based on Microsoft's recent moves, that is probably an unlikely outcome.