Jason Blundell, the primary contributor to Call of Duty Zombies, announced the opening of Dark Outlaw, a new PlayStation-funded studio. The announcement came in a May 17 bonus episode of The Jeff Gerstmann Show when Blundell announced that the studio had been operating in secret.
A New Start Following Deviation Games Shut Down
Blundell co-founded Deviation Games in 2020, which collaborated with PlayStation on some secret project. The studio closed down before the game’s announcement, however, and that was a disappointment for Blundell and PlayStation’s live-service plans.
Now, however, Dark Outlaw Blundell is going down a more measured route, in which quality over hype is key. He said that his studio has been “working away in the shadows” and will announce his game when they are ready. It is a change of strategy from PlayStation’s earlier plans, in which several studio closures and game cancellations have been announced over the last two years.
What Might Dark Outlaw Be Working On?
No information has been revealed regarding Dark Outlaw’s debut title, but Blundell’s background means it could be an ambitious multiplayer game. PlayStation, in the wake of recent live-service disasters such as Concord, might seek to return its focus to multiplayer and Blundell’s history of developing co-op and survival games might be at the center of this.
A New Direction for PlayStation
PlayStation did not fare much better with multiplayer and live-service, with most of its experiments simply not making the cut. Then, the company decided to give another chance to Blundell, pointing to a renewed enthusiasm for high-quality multiplayer games.
Blundell’s game direction, Dark Outlaw’s first project may well be PlayStation’s next hit multiplayer game in the future. Its fans should wait and observe when it becomes officially announced, but given Blundell’s past achievements, anticipation from fans are expectedly high.
