Sony's rumoured reboot of Twisted Metal is reportedly no longer under the remit of Lucid Games and instead has been handed over to one of Sony's first-party studios.
In a report by VGC, sources told the outlet that a reboot of the car combat series is still on the cards but that it is no longer being developed by UK-based studio Lucid Games – which created PS5 exclusive Destruction All-Stars – and instead has been handed over to one of its first-party studios in Europe.
Sony's European studios include Guerrilla Games (Horizon: Forbidden West), Housemarque (Returnal), London Studio (Blood & Truth), Media Molecule (Dreams), and new acquisitions Nixxes and Firesprite.
At present, neither Sony nor Lucid Games have inclined to comment in regard to the report. VGC states that the sources providing the information did not give a reason for Sony's change in developer, though one person did suggest that the mixed reception to Destruction AllStars could have factored into the decision.
AllStars was met with muted reviews when it launched last year. In our very own rundown of the game, we awarded it a 6/10, stating that it contained a "disappointing lack of depth beneath the loud crashes, bangs, and wallops that feel so exciting at first."
Reports of Lucid's involvement in a Twisted Metal reboot surfaced back in September - at the time suggesting that the game could be set to feature a free-to-play model, similar to Destruction AllStars' last-minute development shift. AllStars was originally set to be priced at $70, however, weeks before launch, the game ended up delayed into 2021 and was free to PlayStation Plus subscribers for around two months, before eventually being listed in the store at around $20.
2012's Twisted Metal reboot was the last time fans were able to delve into a mainline entry for the series. While only time will tell whether or not Sony has taken the decision to change studios over the series latest reboot, there's still plenty to look forward to from the franchise. In 2019, it was announced that a Twisted Metal TV show was in the works.
Since then a number of different cast and crew have signed on to the project including Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick as well as Marvel star Anthony Mackie who is set to play the series lead. The series acts as another example of PlayStation Productions' efforts to bring its many celebrated games to screen and joins the likes of Uncharted, The Last of Us, and Ghost of Tsushima in that respect.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.