Looks Like Former Call of Duty Veterans’ New Studio Wants To Be Acquired by Sony

Deviation Games, a AAA studio co-founded by Call of Duty veterans Jason Blundell and Dave Anthony, unveiled its new office décor and it practically screams “next PlayStation Studios acquisition.” Images of the 14,000 sq. ft. Santa Monica, CA facility were first shared by Twitter user Shinobi602, which flaunt DualSense controllers on its walls – a little unusual for an independent, third-party studio.

Deviation Games is working on a PS5 exclusive

A year ago, Sony and Deviation Games announced a partnership to develop an original AAA IP. Both companies have kept the game tightly under wraps but rumor has it that it’ll be a “world-class first-person shooter that is planned to be supported for years, if not generations.” This checks out with Sony’s live service ambitions as well as Deviation Games’ expertise. The studio employs developers from not just Treyarch but also Respawn Entertainment. If rumors are to be believed, we’ll have first official information about the mystery game within the year.

Opinion: I’ll be surprised if Sony doesn’t acquire Deviation Games

Zarmena writes… Given Sony’s pattern, it certainly looks like Deviation Games is being primed for an acquisition à la Jade Raymond’s Haven Studios. Deviation has only announced one project so far (the Sony game), which is a ways away from releasing, and it has already expanded with a new Canadian studio with no information about where it received the funding from. I also don’t think an independent, third-party studio would plaster DualSense controllers all over their wall like that. It’s only a matter of time…

In other news, Days Gone director Jeff Ross has joined Crystal Dynamics, and Ubisoft is pulling the plug on Ghost Recon: Breakpoint.