Blundell, previously a producer and creative director on multiple Call of Duty games and, most notably, its zombie mode, is reportedly heading a new Sony studio.
The unnamed Sony studio will join Bungie to work on their unannounced Sci-Fi IP. Reportedly, Bungie's been working on this IP for a while, with Sony only joining recently.
Information is scarce, but the IP is rumored to be an action game in a "science-fantasy universe."Those familiar with Blundell's work on CoD Zombies will know his experience with esoteric fantasy storylines, and settings align perfectly with Bungie's vision.
Rumors circulated about multiple new Bungie IPs as early as 2021. Back then, screenshots of Destiny 2 were incorrectly shared as concept art for one of the IPs. One was even rumored to be a Destiny 2-like live service game.
The Destiny similarities might not end at live service as the new IP might be the codename "Matter" project. This might be worrying, as early rumors suggested the inclusion of microtransactions; unfortunately, getting microtransactions before an official name sends some sort of message.
Although a new Bungie Sci-Fi game is always good news, it's been marred by the industry's long-standing layoff trend.
When Bungie started integrating Sony into the project, 220 employees lost their jobs in July. Still, Bungie's official statement didn't sound as soullessly corporate as most layoff announcements do. Blundell found himself in a new position amidst this.
Blundell left Activision in 2020 and co-founded a new studio, Deviation Games, in 2021. Unfortunately, this arrangement didn't last long, as he left the studio only a year later, in May 2022. The studio then experienced layoffs in 2023 and was eventually shuttered earlier this year.
During the studio's short life, they had started working with Sony and XDev on a possible CoD competitor set in space. Still, and after getting around $50 million in budget, the studio delivered nothing on the day of the game's announcement except a few unimpressive screenshots.
Blundell had left Deviation Games long before this happened, but many of his fans were still disappointed by his career direction after leaving Activision. In the months following his departure, he's stayed relatively quiet about his next steps.
The only indicator of his next move is Youtuber JCBackfire's announcement that he's working for Sony under Blundell.
JOB UPDATE!
ā JC (@JCbackfire) December 18, 2023
I've been wanting to say this for a while, but now I finally can! š
I'm a Junior Game Designer @PlayStation Studios.
And I work for Jason Blundell. ā¤ļø
Blundell excelled at producing and being a creative director, but it remains to be seen if being a studio head is within his skill set.
Although Bungie's been very secretive regarding this new IP, new leaks may surface the closer we get to the project's completion, or one of Blundell's zombie fans will somehow figure it out. It is their thing, after all.
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Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/ex-cod-dev-working-with-sony-bungie-on-new-ip/
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