Sony Santa Monica Layoffs Erased a Promising New IP?

This week, God of War developer Sony Santa Monica suffered a round of layoffs due to a “cycle of resource re-alignment.”

That was the official word from Sony, but at the time, they didn’t mention the elimination of a new IP. There were whispers of a brand new game in the works; a sci-fi adventure title of sorts. Now, one of the recently displaced employees confirms that in fact, that new IP was indeed a casualty.

Here’s what former lead level designer Jonathan Hawkins said on Twitter:

“Yesterday, I was laid off. It was a good 10 year run & I got to make three 90+ games. I lived the dream & got to accomplish all of my goals. Except one… making something out of nothing & creating a new AAA IP.

The saddest part of waking up today is I no longer get to work with my family. Secondly, the pain that I feel for my friends who have lost their jobs. The saddest & most important part is the game I was creating for the player that will never be played. I’m sorry that I’ve failed you.”

This unannounced new title was the brainchild of Stig Asmussen, game director for God of War III. As for the current status of the project, that remains unknown. Perhaps it isn’t dead and gone forever; maybe Sony just temporarily shelved it, or maybe they plan to bring it to another internal studio. Currently, Sony Santa Monica is helping Ready at Dawn with the anticipated PlayStation 4 exclusive, The Order: 1886.