Brand new images of Sony's canceled Twisted Metal game have surfaced online, suggesting that developer Firesprite was working on a live service game that combined the series' iconic vehicular combat with battle royale elements.
A former UI developer at Sony-owned Firesprite shared several screenshots in their online portfolio. Although these images are intentionally blurred and marked "Under NDA," they are listed under the codename Project Copper, believed to be the internal name for the unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.
Twisted Metal, a well-known vehicle combat video game franchise that debuted on the PSone and hasn't had a new release since the PlayStation 3 era, was described by the developer as "a third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation and developed by Firesprite." They further explained that Project Copper featured "third-person shooter mechanics wrapped with third-person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing" (thanks, MP1st).
Sony reportedly canceled Twisted Metal during mass layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game "wasn't yet greenlit" but was in development at the UK studio Firesprite, which Sony confirmed was affected by the layoffs.
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Twisted Metal was sidelined amid Sony's broader retreat from live service games, following an aggressive push to develop more of these titles. Naughty Dog halted development on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the need to allocate all resources to post-launch content for years, which would have significantly impacted their ability to create future single-player games.
While Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 became a breakout success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks to become the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time, Sony's live service hero shooter Concord turned out to be one of the most significant failures in PlayStation history. It lasted only a few weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player numbers, leading Sony to cancel the game and shut down its developer.
In January, Sony canceled two unannounced live service games, one being a God of War title developed by Bluepoint, and the other at Days Gone developer Bend.
Although it appears unlikely that we will see another Twisted Metal game in the near future, the Twisted Metal TV series starring Anthony Mackie is set to return for Season 2 on Peacock. IGN's review of Twisted Metal Season 1 gave it an 8/10, stating, "Though overloaded with jokes at times, Twisted Metal is a miraculously enjoyable blend of comedy, violence, and thoughtfulness."
