"Canceled Twisted Metal Game Blended Vehicular Combat, Shooter, and Battle Royale Elements, Developer Reveals"
Brand 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. Although the images are blurred and marked "Under NDA," they are linked to the codename Project Copper, believed to be the internal name for the unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.
Twisted Metal, a vehicle combat franchise that originated on the PSone and hasn't seen a new installment since the PlayStation 3 era, was described by the developer as a "third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation and developed by Firesprite." They further explained that Project Copper featured "third-person shooter mechanics wrapped with third-person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing" (thanks, MP1st).
Sony reportedly canceled Twisted Metal amid mass layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game "wasn't yet greenlit" but was in development at UK studio Firesprite, which Sony confirmed was affected by the layoffs.
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Twisted Metal was a casualty of Sony's broader retreat from live service games, following an internal 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 hindered their ability to create future single-player games.
While Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 became a smash hit, 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 major flop. It lasted only a couple of weeks before being taken offline due to dismal player numbers. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game and shut down its developer.
In January, Sony canceled two unannounced live service games: one a God of War title at Bluepoint, the other at Days Gone developer Bend.
Although it appears we won't see a new Twisted Metal game in the near future, the Twisted Metal TV series starring Anthony Mackie is set to return for Season 2 on Peacock. IGN's review of Twisted Metal Season 1 awarded it an 8/10, stating: "Though overloaded with jokes at times, Twisted Metal is a miraculously enjoyable blend of comedy, violence, and thoughtfulness."
