Brand new images of Sony's canceled Twisted Metal game have surfaced online, suggesting that developer Firesprite was working on a live service game that combined the franchise's iconic vehicular combat with battle royale elements.
A former UI developer at Sony-owned Firesprite shared several screenshots on their online portfolio. Although the images are intentionally blurred and marked "Under NDA," they fall under the codename Project Copper, believed to be the internal designation for the unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.
Twisted Metal is a well-known vehicle combat video game series that originated on the PSone and hasn't seen a new installment since the PlayStation 3 era. According to the developer, Project Copper was described as a "third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation and developed by Firesprite." They further elaborated that the game included "third-person shooter mechanics wrapped with third-person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing" (thanks, MP1st).
Sony reportedly canceled Twisted Metal amid mass layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game was "not yet greenlit" but had been in development at UK studio Firesprite, which Sony confirmed was affected by the layoffs.
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The decision to cancel Twisted Metal reflects Sony's broader retreat from live service games following a major internal push to develop more of these titles. For instance, Naughty Dog halted development on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the need to allocate all resources to post-launch content for years, which would have hindered their ability to create future single-player games.
While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a massive success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, Sony's live service hero shooter Concord turned out to be one of the biggest flops in PlayStation history. It lasted only a few weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player engagement, eventually leading Sony to cancel the game and shut down its developer.
In January, Sony canceled two unannounced live service games, one being a God of War title developed by Bluepoint, and the other by Days Gone developer Bend.
Although it appears unlikely that we'll see another Twisted Metal game soon, the Twisted Metal TV series starring Anthony Mackie is set to continue with Season 2 on Peacock. IGN's review of Twisted Metal Season 1 gave it an 8/10, praising it as "a miraculously enjoyable blend of comedy, violence, and thoughtfulness, though overloaded with jokes at times."
