"Canceled Twisted Metal Game Blended Vehicular Combat, Shooting, and Battle Royale, Says Dev"

New images of Sony's canceled Twisted Metal game have surfaced online, revealing that developer Firesprite was working on a live service game that combined the series' iconic vehicular combat with battle royale elements. A former UI developer at Sony-owned Firesprite shared several screenshots on their online portfolio, though the images are blurred and marked "Under NDA." These screenshots are listed under the codename Project Copper, believed to be the internal name for the unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.

Twisted Metal, a beloved vehicle combat franchise that debuted on the PSone and last saw a new entry during the PlayStation 3 era, was being reimagined by Firesprite as a "third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation." The developer described Project Copper as featuring third-person shooter mechanics integrated with third-person vehicle combat, where the goal was to be the last one standing.

Sony reportedly canceled Twisted Metal as part of extensive layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game was not yet officially greenlit but was being developed at the UK studio Firesprite, which was affected by the layoffs.

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The cancellation of Twisted Metal reflects a broader retreat from live service games at Sony, following an initial push to develop more of these titles. Naughty Dog halted work on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the need to dedicate all resources to post-launch content for years, which would have compromised their ability to create future single-player games.

While Helldivers 2 by Arrowhead became a phenomenal 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 was a significant failure. It lasted only a few weeks before being taken offline due to dismal player numbers, leading Sony to cancel the game entirely and close its developer.

In January, Sony also canceled two other unannounced live service games: one a God of War title at Bluepoint and another at Days Gone developer Bend.

Although a new Twisted Metal game seems unlikely in the near future, the Twisted Metal TV series starring Anthony Mackie is set to return for a second season 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," despite occasional overuse of humor.