Former PlayStation London devs establish new studio Twisted Works

Industry veterans from PlayStation London Studio, Disney Interactive, and Square Enix have formed a new studio.

Established last June, London-based Twisted Works is led by CEO and creative director James Brace alongside director of operations Ciarán Daly and director of characters Etienne Jabbour.

The studio is focusing on “bold ideas” and new IP in what is currently a “very-risk-averse market,” says Brace.

“We love bringing characters to life, but we’re very pragmatic. We have a commercial head on and we looked at the market and opportunities. That determined the space we were going in and what we could bring to market with what we had in the time we had.”

Twisted Works is currently developing its debut title Cast Outs, a “modern fantasy co-op” set in fantasy London.

As noted by our sister site Eurogamer, Cast Outs seems to be linked to PlayStation London’s previously in-development co-op game, which featured similar concept art along with its setting and genre.

Brace hopes that the game will demonstrate how the studio has “created a property that people [will] love enjoying, sharing, and socialising in.”

“I’m not saying there needs to be a huge concurrent number or commercial success for that,” he continues. “But if there’s enough and it’s sustainable, then we can keep this universe going and we can keep telling stories and building the game with the community.

“We’ve built Cast Outs in a way that it’s scalable and expandable. I’d rather have a really high quality small audience than a big burst audience that comes and goes and drops. We’ve seen those curves and how they can change.”

PlayStation London was shuttered in May 2024 after two decades of operation. This was part of mass layoffs at Sony Interactive Entertainment, affecting 900 workers.

Cuts were also made to Firesprite and Guerilla Games in Europe, while in the US, Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, and PlayStation’s technology, creative, and support teams were affected.

Former SIE president and CEO Jim Ryan cited the “evolving economic landscape” and “changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products” as the reason for last year’s major restructure.

Ryan is no longer at Sony following his retirement announced in September 2023.