Now being handled by unnamed first-party studio.
Lucid Games, the UK developer behind Destruction All-Stars, is reportedly no longer working on a new Twisted Metal game for Sony as previously claimed, with the project now said to have been handed over to an unnamed first-party studio.
Word of a new Twisted Metal game first surfaced last September, when GamesBeat journalist Jeff Grubb claimed the project was in early development. Shortly after, VGC offered additional details, reporting Lucid Games would be the studio handling the new installation and that the project would follow Destruction All-Stars lead as a free-to-play game.
In a follow-up to that initial story, however, VGC now reports the project has seen a significant shakeup, with its sources claiming Sony has made the decision to ditch Lucid Games as the developer of its new Twisted Metal title and move the project to an unnamed first-party studio elsewhere in Europe. Although no explanation for the switch was given, one source told VGC it may at least in part be related to Destruction All-Stars’ underwhelming reception.
Twisted Metal, 2012 Launch Trailer.
While Sony hasn’t yet made the new game official, previous reports have suggested it’s aiming to launch the title alongside its currently in-the-works Twisted Metal TV adaptation as part of a new initiative to more closely align its game releases with its movie and television projects.
A TV series based on Twisted Metal was initially touted back in 2019, and more details have begun emerge as production has shifted up a gear over the last year. The show (currently expected to arrive some time in 2023) is said to be an action-comedy take on the long-running PlayStation series, with Cobra Kai writer Michael Jonathan Smith on scripting duties.
According to Variety, it’ll tell the story of a motor-mouthed outsider – played by Anthony Mackie, perhaps best known as The Falcon in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe – who’s offered a chance at a better life, as long as he can deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland dominated by savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction.
