Really curious about this studio, they are expanding really fast and they have several projects in development with one of them only announced at the moment (Horizon VR).
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Sony's Firesprite is moving to a new office that's more than 20 times larger than its current one
- Thread starter Portodutch
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Really curious about this studio, they are expanding really fast and they have several projects in development with one of them only announced at the moment (Horizon VR).
That's Firewalk I think? Not owned by but published by Sony.
I imagine this means they are opening a bunch of stuff like mocap/audio recording offices and so on and make a second part of Firesprite that, like VASG offers a robust asset creation pipeline for First and Third Party studios in the UK to use.
You are confusing with Firewalk, Firesprite has a bunch of projects, including Horizon Call of he Mountains.
OP
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They have job openings for the following
Narrative Adventure
Action Shooter
Multiplayer action (Rumored to be Twisted Metal)
And Horizon VR is already announced
Working on the Horizon VR game, a AAA horror game and rumoured to be making a new Twisted Metal, I think maybe 1 more, but that might be the Twisted Metal project.
The Ropewalks is a bit of a rough area in Liverpool so they probably got the space for a bit cheaper. There are semi-regular stabbings.
I understand that the Playstation Liverpool office (XDEV, etc) also had big renovation recently, so they must be investing heavily in the area.
Very jealous that their office is next door to The Merchant though. Cracking Bar with some great pizza.
I understand that the Playstation Liverpool office (XDEV, etc) also had big renovation recently, so they must be investing heavily in the area.
Very jealous that their office is next door to The Merchant though. Cracking Bar with some great pizza.
Its crazy how much Sony seems to be investing in them going by what they have already put out. They must see a huge amount of potential, which is a good thing!
Exactly. Doesn't matter who acquires who if they're unable to attract and retain talent
OP
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Didnt think of that but that could be it, because so much space just for employees is really allot.
Pretty crazy timeline. Studio Liverpool shut -> Firesprite formed -> Firesprite develop various titles for Sony -> Firesprite bought by Sony - > Firesprite expand.
I'll have to go check out where their new office is. I may be wrong but I recall Studio Liverpool being in the old Littlewood building, which got wrecked by a fire a few weeks back. Duke Street is pretty central, not sure where the Vanilla Factory is.
I'll have to go check out where their new office is. I may be wrong but I recall Studio Liverpool being in the old Littlewood building, which got wrecked by a fire a few weeks back. Duke Street is pretty central, not sure where the Vanilla Factory is.
Rough area?! Only in so much that it is the main nightlife area of a major European city. No rougher than the Northern Quarter in Manchester or SoHo in London. But it is indeed next to a load of good spots. Duke St market for grub, Jacaranda Phase 1 for records etc, FACT for film and exhibitions etc. It's a great place to work, definitely.
Vanilla Factory was really close, on Fleet Street, off St Peter's Square. 2 minute walks away from their new venue.
Of course. I only mean in comparison to the Playstation Liverpool Office which is on Old Hall Street, and thus probably much more expensive.
First look at Sony PlayStation’s new Old Hall Street office space
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that they will be opening a new office in the Liverpool ECHO's former home on Old Hall Street.
www.explore-liverpool.com
Of course. I only mean in comparison to the Playstation Liverpool Office which is on Old Hall Street, and thus probably much more expensive.
First look at Sony PlayStation’s new Old Hall Street office space
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that they will be opening a new office in the Liverpool ECHO's former home on Old Hall Street.
Yeah, true. Old Hall St is much more "traditional CBD". Suits and ties etc. I guess that fits in with the nature of the Sony office and that the creatives are out where all the partying happens.
It's pretty much in the same area, a little closer to the Baltic Triangle, but doesn't really make a big difference, it's like minutes away.
I'm wondering if Sony will try ubisoft approach and Firesprite will also be supporting other Sony studio. They're already collaborating with Guerilla to make Horizon VR. I wonder if this will happen with other studio as well. Maybe they'll be the one making new Uncharted, co develop with Naughty Dog, or maybe TLoU remake VR conversion, etc
They've got over 50 open positions right now so definitely growing at a massive rate! They're almost twice the size of Rare, to give some perspective.
I imagine they've grown massively over the two years that we've been working from home in the UK (acquisition or not) and simply couldn't fit into their old office now that folks are starting to return to shared working in one place. I know of a few studios who are in that situation.
Firesprite have done tons of co-dev/support work so I wouldn't be surprised if they continue that.
They were one of the co-devs on Sea of Thieves!
Sometimes that kind of growth can be bad. For instance I know Media Tonic hired a lot of people that they couldn't manage well. A friend of mine was let go at Media Tonic after his manager said they did not understand what his role was in the company, or why he was hired.
He's fine now though, works for Ubisoft Annecy and gets to go snowboarding every weekend.
Not to say it's that way for Firesprite, I haven't heard bad things and I'm optimistic they might revive some old Playstation franchises. A lot of folks there are ex studio liverpool, ex evolution and so forth, so a Wipeout title focused on VR feels inevitable.
Thats way higher than i thought they were. Werent they around 250 when they got acquired by sony in September? That would be nearly doubling their size in 9 months.
265 with Fabrik I believe. They've consistently had 40-50+ openings ever since so wouldn't surprise me, especially with WFH opening up the talent pool base.
They acquired Fabrik games at the end of September bringing them up to ~265.
Job listing in March said they were over 300, and still growing fast.
I kind of got the impression that hiring had slowed down recently but maybe that's not the case. They're hiring for more positions now than in September, and they seem to be filling them.
I didn't realize Firesprite was comprised of ex-studio liverpool folks, I guess Sony had some sellers remorse there.
Great for the UK. I'd love to see some of the stuff they are working on, they must have impressed Sony for the speed they are growing.