Sony Shuts Bluepoint, the Remake Masters Behind Demon's Souls

When the PlayStation 5 launched in November 2020, the game that showed what it could do was not new at all. It was a remake of an 11-year-old cult classic, Demon's Souls, rebuilt from the ground up by a small studio in Austin, Texas. Five years later, that studio is gone.

On February 19, 2026, Bloomberg reported that Sony was shutting down Bluepoint Games, and PlayStation confirmed it. About 70 employees lost their jobs, and the studio closed in March 2026. A PlayStation spokesperson said the decision followed "a recent business review," and called Bluepoint an "incredibly talented team" whose "technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community."

The remake specialists

Bluepoint was founded in 2006 by Andy O'Neil and Marco Thrush, two developers who had worked at Retro Studios on Metroid Prime. For almost two decades, it did something few studios try to make a whole business of: taking great old games and making them new again.

Its track record reads like a history of PlayStation:

• God of War Collection (2009), bringing the first two games to PS3 in HD
• The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (2011)
• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (2011)
• Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (2015) on PS4
• Shadow of the Colossus (2018), a full remake on PS4
• Demon's Souls (2020), the PS5 launch remake

It also helped other teams, including on the Xbox 360 port of Titanfall and additional work on God of War Ragnarök.

From acquisition to closure

Sony bought Bluepoint on September 30, 2021, after years of partnership, making it part of PlayStation Studios. The natural next step seemed obvious: another big remake, or perhaps the studio's first original game.

Instead, Bluepoint was reportedly asked to build a live-service game set in the God of War universe. In January 2025, Sony cancelled that project before it was ever revealed. A year later, the studio itself was closed.

A pattern at PlayStation

Bluepoint's closure fits a wider shift at Sony. Over the past few years, PlayStation has cancelled several live-service projects and focused on a smaller number of big releases. In 2026 alone, it closed Bluepoint in February, laid off about 292 people at Bungie in June (see our Bungie story), and saw 24 people let go at Sucker Punch later in the year.

The irony is hard to miss. Sony's financial results this year are excellent, with game profit up 83% in the July-September quarter (see our Sony story). Studio closures are no longer a sign that a company is in trouble. They are a sign that it is choosing where to spend.

Why it matters

Remakes have become one of the most reliable genres in games, from Resident Evil to Final Fantasy VII. Bluepoint was one of the teams that proved a remake could be a showcase rather than a cash-in. Losing it means losing a rare set of skills: the ability to rebuild a beloved game without breaking what made it special.

Its people will not vanish. Developers from closed studios often found new ones, and Bluepoint's veterans are among the most sought-after technical artists and engineers in the business. But the studio's name, and the promise of whatever it might have remade next, is gone. Our 2026 layoffs round-up covers the rest of the year's closures.

What to watch

• Where Bluepoint's veterans land, and whether any found a new studio together.
• PlayStation's remake plans, now without its specialist team.
• Further Sony studio changes as it focuses on fewer, bigger games.