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

Brand new images of Sony's canceled Twisted Metal game have surfaced online, hinting at a live-service title blending the franchise's signature vehicular combat with battle royale mechanics. A former UI developer at Sony-owned Firesprite shared several blurred screenshots on their online portfolio. While marked "Under NDA," these images, codenamed "Project Copper," strongly suggest the unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.

Although the Twisted Metal franchise, known for its vehicular 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's reported cancellation of Twisted Metal was part of broader layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game "wasn't yet greenlit" but was under development at UK studio Firesprite, which was affected by the cuts.

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Twisted Metal's cancellation aligns with Sony's apparent retreat from live-service games following a significant internal push in that direction. Naughty Dog halted development on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the extensive resources required for years of post-launch content—a commitment that would have hampered future single-player game development.

While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 was a resounding 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 a few weeks before being shut down due to extremely low player numbers. Sony subsequently closed the developer.

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

Although a new Twisted Metal game seems unlikely for now, 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 occasional joke overload.