“I don’t think it’s secret news they’re working on a new IP, for example,” said Healey in the interview. “I would go as far as to say that it’s more of a game than a creative tool from what I understand about it.”

“I think that Sony has still got a lot of faith in Media Molecule, so I’m sure at the very least they’re going to get to make this game, and hopefully, get back into the money-making books again.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Healey also spoke about Media Molecule’s last major project, Dreams. He spoke about how Dreams would have likely been more of a success if it had integrated online multiplayer from launch, as well as a PC version.

“We were so lucky to be allowed to be indulged in such a crazy project,” said Healey speaking about Dreams in retrospect. “It’s amazing that we made it happen at all really. For that thing to exist on a console, I can’t have any frustration or bitterness about it if I’m honest.”

Support for Dreams was brought to an end back in September 2023, and developer Media Molecule has been working on a new IP in the meantime. This means that the new game will won’t be a sequel to Dreams or LittleBigPlanet, and will instead be a completely new title.

The studio is yet to officially unveil the new title, however.

In fact, another UK-based first-party PlayStation studio was also considered for closure, according to journalist Ethan Gach, who has claimed in his Substack newsletter Dead Game that alongside SIE London Studio, Sony was also looking at LittleBigPlanet and Dreams studio Media Molecule as a candidate for closure, before deciding to shut down the latter.

According to Gach, London Studio ended up being shuttered due to the slow progress it was making on its PS5 live service fantasy game. Switching from VR to console development and treading into an entirely different genre, progress on the project was apparently not satisfactory to Sony, and London Studio allegedly not expecting the game to “see the light of day anytime soon” seemingly contributed to the studio’s shuttering.

Media Molecule’s last project was Dreams, which was a critical success – sitting at a Metacritic score of 89 – but failed to attract a large enough audience to remain relevant for too long. Support for Dreams ended in September last year, with Media Molecule confirming that it was working on its next game, and that it wouldn’t be a Dreams sequel.

Media Molecule co-founder Mark Healy – who also directed LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2, and Dreams – left the studio last year. In October, Media Molecule laid off around 20 of its employees.

According to McDonald, the PC and PS5 versions of Dreams would have supported new advanced features, including mouse and keyboard support for the PC, and ray-tracing on the PS5. In the livestream, McDonald states that the project was cancelled around the same time as Media Molecule suffered from layoffs back in October.

At the time of writing, the livestream’s clip is no longer available.

The studio, however, has seemingly been busy at work on a new project. Back in April, the studio revealed that, while it couldn’t give out any details about new project, the game would not be a sequel to Dreams.

Dreams was released exclusively on the PS4 back in 2020.

A message from Media Molecule. pic.twitter.com/tV4ZNkdgAF

— Media Molecule (@mediamolecule) October 24, 2023

Original story follows:

Media Molecule, the developer behind LittleBigPlanet and Dreams, is apparently planning to lay off dozens of staff members and reduce its headcount by around 15 to 20%. As reported by Videogames.si, Media Molecule will be laying off roughly 20 employees to make its headcount from 135 to 115 which has already been discussed internally through meetings.

It hasn’t been mentioned which departments will be seeing the most reduction, and what the actual purpose is behind these layoffs.

Media Molecule recently ended support for Dreams, and confirmed earlier in the year that it had started working on a next game, which won’t be a sequel to the 2020 PS4 title.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Is Red Dead Redemption 2, one of the greatest games of all time, really the best Xbox One and PS4 title? Yes, it is, because even with the hardware limitations, Rockstar Games delivered an excellent open-world action-adventure. The story is fantastic; the characters, especially protagonist Arthur Morgan, are fantastic; and the gameplay, while not for everyone, is realistic and incredibly detailed with a wide range of activities.

PS4 and PS5 players get access to Moving Out 2, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen (which requires the base game to play), Lost Judgment, Destroy All Humans! 2 – Reprobed, Source of Madness, Cursed to Golf,  PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night, Hotel Transylvania: Scary-Tale Adventures and Lawn Mowing Simulator: Landmark Edition.

PS4 players get access to Spellforce 3 Reforced, Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition, Dreams (which recently received Tren in a free update), and Midnight Fight Express. All four titles should be backwards compatible on PS5.

As for the Classics coming to Premium subscribers, there’s MediEvil: Resurrection, Ape Escape: On the Loose and Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, all playable on PS4 and PS5.

The gameplay involves traversing from one end of the track to the other, which is easier said than done. Tren was revealed in 2021 as part of DreamsCom but has become something far greater. “Tren began life as the brainchild of our creative director John Beech, who saw the potential of using Dreams to create an ode to his childhood.

“At its heart, Tren is a game all about the joy of play – after all, while we all have to grow up eventually, you don’t have to lose that spark of childlike wonder.”

Players can expect several Easter eggs and references from those who worked on it, but that’s not all. Its launch includes a kit of more than 550 elements to customize tracks. You can even change the developer’s tracks to make them more challenging.

Regardless of the response, this is likely the last major update for Dreams. Support ends on September 1st with Media Molecule working on a new project (which isn’t a sequel). Stay tuned for more details in the future.

Acid Nerve’s Death’s Door is playable on PS4 and PS5 and features a Crow, acting as a Grim Reaper, who harvests souls. After venturing to a realm where death doesn’t exist, you must gather several Great Souls to open Death’s Door. The isometric action-adventure title combines aspects of The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls for a challenging but fan experience.

Media Molecule’s Dreams is part video game and part creation suite, with tools for creating music, animations, cinematics and games. It’s only playable on PS4 but has received significant support, including new single-player campaigns. If that weren’t enough, the developer’s newest game, Tren, is also available.

Finally, there’s PGA Tour 2K23 for PS4 and PS5, which offers pro golf. It features the usual 2K Games tropes like MyPLAYER, but you can also learn Skills and use Archetypes to customize them. With Casual Mode, a Course Designer, and more, there’s a lot for fans to dive into.

Media Molecule has announced that under the new terms of use, players will now be able to export any music, animation, films, and art created they’ve created in Dreams and use it for either personal or commercial purposes outside of the game. A new update will have to be downloaded, and players will be asked to go through and agree to the new terms of use after logging into the game again.

Meanwhile, patch notes for the aforementioned new update have also been revealed, bringing a number of fixes and tweeks. You can check them out below.

Support for Dreams will be ending on September 1, though players will still be able to play, create, and share in the game past that date. Media Molecule has also confirmed that its next project won’t be a Dreams sequel- read more on that through here.

PATCH NOTES:

• Fixed several issues related to Playlist performance in-game.
• Fixed an issue where only 8 scoreboards were being presented per creation, and scores were not being posted as expected.
• Made improvements to search result speed and performance, both in-situ and while in DreamShaping.
• Fixed an issue where local saves of Dreams and/or Collections would take longer than expected to load in creations.
• Fixed several issues that caused search results to refresh while viewing Genealogy, Versions and Search.
• Updated wording to be more informative when deleting local versions of Collections and Dreams.
• Improved Update Mode. This will now highlight the canvas that a chip is stamped on, helping the user identify Elements/objects that may need updating.
  • Update Mode will now also highlight instruments when replacing a previously stamped instrument.
• Fixed an issue where searching in a Dream or Collection would not return any results.
• Several photo management issue fixes.
• Fixed an issue where reconnecting to the server after internet connection drops would result in Version Limits incorrectly displaying as 0/0.
• Fixed several rare issues that would result in crashes.
• Various other fixes and improvements.

Mark Healey, the co-founder of Media Molecule, has confirmed on Twitter that he is leaving the studio. Healey says he is looking to “chart a new course” and that he plans to remain in the games industry, but hasn’t provided more details. Whether his departure is related to the decision to end support for Dreams is unknown.

Healey co-founded Media Molecule back in 2006 and has gone on to lead some of the studio’s biggest projects since then, having served as the creative director of LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2, before going on to direct Dreams.

(2/4) From LittleBigPlanet to Dreams and beyond – proud to have played my part and lucky to have jammed with some truly brilliant people – and such a wonderfully talented Community which I will continue to be a fan of…

— Marcos (@marcoshealey) April 17, 2023

https://twitter.com/marcoshealey/status/1647895759222611970