PlayStation Shuts Down Dark Outlaw Games, Led by Former Call of Duty Veteran
Sony PlayStation has closed Dark Outlaw Games, a first-party studio founded just last year and led by Jason Blundell, a veteran of Activision’s Call of Duty franchise. The closure, announced internally on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, adds to a growing list of shuttered PlayStation studios during the current console generation.
A Short-Lived Venture
Dark Outlaw Games was created in March 2025, allowing Blundell to lead a recent first-party studio under PlayStation Studios . Blundell previously co-founded Deviation Games in June 2021, also with a publishing deal with Sony, but left the studio in 2022. Deviation Games faced significant layoffs in 2023 and ultimately closed in 2024 .
Prior to Deviation Games, Blundell spent nearly 14 years at Treyarch, contributing significantly to the Call of Duty Zombies franchise as a producer, creative director, and game director .
Part of a Larger Trend
Dark Outlaw Games is not the only PlayStation first-party studio to be closed recently. Sony has shuttered several other studios since the launch of the PlayStation 5, including:
- Manchester Studio (2020)
- Japan Studio (2021)
- PixelOpus (2023)
- London Studio (2024)
- Firewalk Games (2024)
- Neon Koi (2024)
- Bluepoint Games (2026)
This pattern of acquisitions followed by closures has raised concerns about Sony’s first-party strategy .
Layoffs and a Shift in Mobile Strategy
Alongside the closure of Dark Outlaw Games, Sony is also conducting layoffs in other areas, including its mobile development teams. Approximately 50 individuals have been affected .
The company is reassessing its mobile gaming strategy, despite previous investments and ongoing projects like MLB The Show Mobile and Horizon Steel Frontiers . Sony has been testing Ratchet &. Clank: Ranger Rumble in select regions, but its future remains uncertain.
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