Canceled Twisted Metal Game Was Part Vehicular Combat, Part Shooter, Part Battle Royale, Dev Says

New images of Sony's scrapped Twisted Metal game have surfaced online, suggesting developer Firesprite was crafting a live-service title blending the series' signature vehicular combat with battle royale elements.

A former Firesprite UI developer posted several blurred screenshots to their online portfolio. Marked "Under NDA," these images are associated with "Project Copper," the presumed internal codename for the unannounced Twisted Metal live-service game.

While the Twisted Metal franchise, known for its vehicle combat, originated on the PSone and hasn't seen a new entry since the PlayStation 3 era, the developer described Project Copper as "a third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation and developed by Firesprite." They further explained the gameplay as "third-person shooter mechanics wrapped with third-person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing." (Source: MP1st)

Sony reportedly canceled Twisted Metal as part of February 2024 layoffs. At the time, the game lacked official approval but was under development at Firesprite, a UK studio impacted by the cuts.

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Twisted Metal's cancellation aligns with Sony's scaling back of live-service game development following a significant internal push in this direction. Naughty Dog halted development on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the extensive resources required for long-term post-launch support, which would have hindered future single-player game development.

While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 achieved remarkable success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, Sony's live-service hero shooter, Concord, proved a major setback, lasting only weeks before being shut down due to extremely low player numbers. Sony subsequently closed the game's developer.

In January, Sony canceled two more unannounced live-service games: a God of War title from Bluepoint and another from Days Gone developer Bend.

Although a new Twisted Metal game seems unlikely in the near future, the Twisted Metal TV series starring Anthony Mackie will continue with Season 2 on Peacock. IGN's review of Season 1 awarded it an 8/10, praising its "miraculously enjoyable blend of comedy, violence, and thoughtfulness," despite its occasionally excessive humor.