Deviation Games shuts down before announcing its first game

Back in 2020, former Call of Duty: Black Ops leads, Jason Blundell and Dave Anthony, formed a new studio, Deviation Games, and swiftly signed a publishing deal with Sony for a new multiplayer game. Unfortunately, that game will no longer see the light of day, as Deviation Games is now closing down. 

Deviation Games unfortunately didn't make it to the point of shipping a game. The company had grown quite quickly in 2021, with over 100 employees. However, big changes rapidly kicked in, with the company opening up a second studio in Canada, followed by Blundell leaving the studio in late 2022. Then, in 2023, the studio underwent layoffs and their first project was cancelled.

Now after all of that taking place, Deviation Games is shutting down for good after just a few years on the scene. It would appear that the game was not close enough to being ready to keep the studio afloat.

Unfortunately, the timing here is pretty bad as thousands of developers have been laid off in recent months and the industry has shrunk, with a number of other studios also closing their doors. However, Deviation Games aims to make the process for its former employees a bit easier by hosting networking events. As spotted by GI.biz, the company's COO shared a message on Linkedin, confirming plans to host a networking event to allow developers to connect with studios that are hiring. Hopefully this means many of those impacted can swiftly find new employment.

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KitGuru Says: It is a shame that we'll never get to really see what Deviation Games was capable of. It is very rare to see a studio shut down before putting out a project, particularly one with a partnership with Sony. 

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