First, look at what could’ve been from the ex-Call of Duty veterans—and why it might not have stood out.
Dave Anthony and Jason Blundell, former developers at Treyarch, founded Deviation Games and collaborated with Sony Interactive Entertainment to develop a brand-new IP for the PlayStation 5. The studio, however, shut down in March 2024 even before they could release a single game. And after all these months, we now have concept art for their unfinished game, which has been leaked.
These concept arts revealed what the studio had been working on and this is a rare look behind the scenes. The studio garnered significant attention due to the founders’ extensive experience with first-person shooters, despite never officially announcing a game or showcasing promotional materials during its brief existence. Many people were looking forward to a bold new multiplayer experience, especially since the studio had teamed up with PlayStation and was comprised of Call of Duty veterans.
Now, for the first time, we can see what might have been planned. Many people had already guessed that the game was a sci-fi first-person shooter with a focus on multiplayer. The leaked concept art confirms this. Fans and commentators have mixed feelings about the visuals, despite the setup sounding promising on paper.
The concept art showcases typical elements of sci-fi shooters, including futuristic weapons, armored characters, space backgrounds, and gear that resembles items from a dozen different live-service games. A man with a beard and comb-over hairstyle is shown in a prominent image.
He is wearing what appears to be high-tech combat gear. Other pictures show at least five different weapons, with two completely different gun designs and different skins. There’s also a big arm attachment that looks like a gauntlet. This adds to the high-tech, maybe hero-shooter vibe.
But at first glance, the art doesn’t really stand out as being unique. Some people have called it “generic” because it looks a lot like other new live-service shooters like Concord, Hyenas, and The Finals. This style looks more like following a corporate trend than coming up with something new out of passion. In a time when players are growing tired of shooters that look the same and are wary of live-service promises that haven’t been kept, this lack of visual variety may have been a red flag.
But keep in mind that this is just concept art and not actual gameplay. Many things could still be very different from what we’re seeing now, as the project is still relatively new. The full creative vision, which included story, mechanics, and polish, might have given the project more of its own personality in the long run.
Still, the way things are in the industry as a whole makes me think this project had a tough time. Recent failures of multiplayer-only games and PlayStation’s reevaluation of its live-service strategy, following the poor reception of Fairgame$, the delay of Marathon, and the closure of PixelOpus, may have meant that Deviation Games’ project didn’t receive the necessary attention from the market.
Changes in the studio’s fate show how unstable the space is. Deviation Games had garnered significant early interest and investment, but in 2023, they were forced to lay off staff and ultimately shut down. It’s unlikely that anyone will ever know the full extent of their canceled game.
There are a lot of sci-fi first-person shooter games out there, and this one might not have been able to stand out. However, the leaked art gives us a small glimpse into what could have been.
