PS5: Masterpiece creator excludes PlayStation returns with new games

Game news PS5: Masterpiece creator excludes PlayStation returns with new games

Present as a PlayStation exclusive for over 20 years and the beginnings of playstation2creations of Fumito Ueda and his famous works ICO Team marking console history sony through their truly unique artistic direction, and highly contemplative vision of video games. Since The Last Guardian, an Arlesian from the PlayStation 3 era finally released in December 2016 on the PlayStation 4, the studio has been renamed genDESIGN very wise. We don’t know much about the next creation, except that it won’t be a PlayStation exclusive, genDESIGN developing titles meant to be published by Epic Games. However, the studio’s latest social media post hints at an announcement for 2023…

Team Ico, the cult studio for PlayStation gamers

For 15 years, Fumito Ueda brought a unique vision of video games to the PlayStation console, redefining many media codes even more than art through his creations. Since the release of Ico in 2001, this ingenious game designer and his team, who have collaborated over the years with passion Japanese studiosmore or less gave birth to the genre we like to call “contemplative video games.” The gameplay is reduced to its simplest expression, its aim more to offer an immersive artistic experience, not to say dreamlike. However, with Shadow of the Colossus, released in the fall of 2005 (and at the end of the aging PS2’s lifespan that would bring it to its knees), the Japanese creator and his style reached a certain height, leading a huge craze for their future creations coming to the PS3.

genDESIGN, a new start for Fumito Ueda

Unfortunately, development on The Last Guardian would drag on, and the title originally announced at E3 2009 wouldn’t be released until seven and a half years later (!) at the peak of the PS4’s illustrious career with the power of exclusives. … and their technical solidity, an aspect he would sadly neglect. Founded in the summer of 2014, genDESIGN then took charge of the chaotic development of this highly anticipated title, whose delivery will be a little less painful than expected, but will somehow mark the end of the exclusive collaboration between Fumito Ueda and Sony. Fumito Ueda would later state that he wanted to take a step back to spend time exploring new concepts, and in March 2020 the studio would communicate about its new partnership it signed with Epic Games, for financing and editions. future title. , was first mentioned in 2018 by its designer.

The future genDESIGN project finally revealed in 2023?

However, in nearly three years, we’ve heard very rarely of a new game where Fumito Ueda and former Team Ico could work. Very vague concept art shared, only confirming the desire to continue with a familiar style, with shades of green and depicting enigmatic landscapes with a majesty disproportionate to those of the protagonists. This is especially the case with the teaser from two years ago, which integrates the visuals of the first three games in the first three digits of “2021” of which “1” contains artwork with an unknown title – obviously , whose announcement was expected two years ago. A studio accustomed to enigmatic year-end greetings, so he did it again with a happy new year tweet implying that we are entitled to new information in 2023, and that recruitment is still open to work on this project:

Good year!

2023 will finally be the year we can give you a lot of information. We are working hard and know you are looking forward to our next project. We thank you for your continued support throughout the year.

At genDESIGN, we are hiring new collaborators for our projects in development, whether they are experienced candidates or recent graduates.

If the linked visuals don’t really allow you to get a more precise idea of ​​the artistic direction this future title is taking, or even the most potential gameplay elements, it’s clear that announcements for the game could be revealed throughout the year, which is good news for fans of the famous Japanese creator. Although the way the “teaser” remains as sketchy as ever, it seems likely that the next gen DESIGN title will be revealed, at least via a definitive title and/or trailer, in the following months! However, it seems unlikely that the game will come out this year, if we believe the last line that evoked the hiring process is still ongoing, for a title we could hardly have imagined would be finalized.

The first visual of Fumito Ueda’s new project was shared 5 years ago.

Note, finally, that a future genDESIGN game should be, if we refer to its director’s statement stemming from the deal signed with Epic in 2020, a title of scale comparable to the studio’s previous productions, despite its now independent status:

Since we are independent and opening our own studio, I hope to reach more players than before.

What we are working on now is not an indie game. We definitely have ambitions to produce something on the scale of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus or The Last Guardian. (…) This will be a completely new game, not a sequel.

– Fumito Ueda (director of studio genDESIGN) in March 2020

Anyway, we can’t wait to learn more about this new project from one of the most important video game designers of the last two decades!