Just over a month after Sony’s announcement regarding the closure of its esteemed remaster studio, Bluepoint Games, the company has now made the difficult decision to shutter Dark Outlaw Games. This studio, founded by Jason Blundell, a veteran of the Call of Duty franchise, was unveiled to the public only a year ago.
Early Stages and Unforeseen Challenges
News of Dark Outlaw’s closure first surfaced on Resetera, indicating that the studio was still in the “early stages” of development on an unannounced project. Shortly thereafter, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier echoed these sentiments in a post on Bluesky. Both sources reported that Sony had also laid off an undisclosed number of employees, with Resetera suggesting the layoffs were “small,” while Schreier estimated around 50 individuals were affected.
Blundell had expressed enthusiasm when Dark Outlaw was announced in March 2025, noting that the studio had been working on something prior to its public debut. He praised Sony for the opportunity, stating, “It’s such a privilege to be able to do it with Sony as a new first-party studio. Sony doesn’t set up first-party studios all the time. To have that privilege is humbling, it’s really nice. I’m really excited.”
Before establishing Dark Outlaw, Blundell was set to collaborate with Sony on a project at Deviation Games, a studio he co-founded in 2021 alongside fellow Call of Duty veteran Dave Anthony. However, Blundell departed from Deviation just over a year later, in September 2022, and the studio ultimately closed its doors in 2024 without releasing a game.
Blundell’s legacy within the gaming industry is significant; he rose through the ranks to become the executive producer of the first two Black Ops titles and the director of Black Ops 3 during his 13-year tenure at Treyarch. Despite such an impressive background, the current landscape of the gaming industry has proven to be unforgiving. Major layoffs and studio closures have become alarmingly routine, with 2023 already being labeled as a particularly challenging year for the sector.
In a stark reminder of the industry’s volatility, Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, recently announced layoffs affecting over 1,000 employees, citing insufficient revenue despite the game’s immense popularity. March has also seen further job cuts at notable companies such as Ubisoft, Crystal Dynamics, and Amazon, underscoring the ongoing turbulence in the gaming world.
