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 franchise's iconic vehicular combat with battle royale elements.
A former UI developer at Sony-owned Firesprite shared a series of screenshots in their online portfolio. Although the images are deliberately blurred and marked "Under NDA," they are tagged with the codename Project Copper, believed to be the internal moniker for the unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.
Twisted Metal, a beloved vehicle combat franchise that originated on the PSone and last saw a release during the PlayStation 3 era, was the basis for Project Copper. The developer described it as a "third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation and developed by Firesprite." They further explained that the game incorporated "third-person shooter mechanics wrapped with third-person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing" (credit: MP1st).
Sony reportedly canceled Twisted Metal amid mass layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game had not yet been officially greenlit but was under development at UK studio Firesprite, which Sony confirmed was affected by the layoffs.
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Twisted Metal was one of several live service games Sony decided to pull back from, following a significant internal push to develop more of these titles. Naughty Dog halted development on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the need to dedicate all resources to post-launch content for years, which would have severely limited their ability to create future single-player games.
While Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 became a massive success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, Sony's live service hero shooter Concord was a major disappointment. It lasted only a few weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player engagement, leading Sony to cancel the game entirely and close 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 seems unlikely we'll see a new 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."
