Exciting new images of Sony's canceled Twisted Metal game have surfaced online, revealing that developer Firesprite was working on an ambitious live service game that combined the franchise's iconic vehicular combat with battle royale elements. A former UI developer from Sony-owned Firesprite shared a series of screenshots in their online portfolio, albeit with intentional blurring and labeled "Under NDA." These images fall under the codename Project Copper, which is believed to be the internal name for this unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.
Twisted Metal, a beloved vehicle combat series that debuted on the PSone and last saw a release on the PlayStation 3, was set to evolve into "a third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation and developed by Firesprite," according to the developer. They further explained that Project Copper incorporated "third-person shooter mechanics wrapped with third-person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing" (thanks, MP1st).
Unfortunately, Sony reportedly canceled Twisted Metal amid mass layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game "wasn't yet greenlit" but had been in development at UK studio Firesprite, which was impacted by the layoffs.
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Twisted Metal's cancellation is part of a larger trend at Sony, which has been pulling back from live service games following an internal push to develop more of these titles. Naughty Dog halted development on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the need for extensive post-launch content that would hinder future single-player game development. While Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 became a massive success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks, Sony's live service hero shooter Concord turned into one of the biggest flops in PlayStation history, lasting only a couple of weeks before being shut down due to low player numbers. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game and close its developer.
In January, Sony canceled two more unannounced live service games, including a God of War title from Bluepoint and another from Days Gone developer Bend.
Although fans won't see a new Twisted Metal game anytime soon, the Twisted Metal TV series starring Anthony Mackie is moving forward with Season 2 on Peacock. IGN's review of Twisted Metal Season 1 awarded it an 8/10, praising it as "a miraculously enjoyable blend of comedy, violence, and thoughtfulness," despite being overloaded with humor at times.
