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And so an era officially comes to an end. The PlayStation Studios website has removed Japan Studio from its list of collaborators, replacing it with Team Asobi – the team behind Astro's Playroom. Japan Studio closed its doors this April, and was responsible for titles such as Ape Escape, The Legend of Dragoon, Ico, Bloodborne, and several other hits.
Spotted by an eagle-eyed fan, Japan Studio's removal from the PlayStation Studios website shouldn't come as a surprise. The company was officially closed down earlier this year – but it's still a bit shocking to see the long-running company missing from the list of Sony-run studios. Some members of Japan Studio were re-organized and given roles at Team Asobi, so hopefully a bit of its spirit lives on with the new developer.
"In an effort to further strengthen business operations, SIE can confirm PlayStation Studios Japan Studio will be re-organized into a new organization on April 1," Sony announced earlier this year. "Japan Studio will be re-centered to Team Asobi, the creative team behind Astro's Playroom, allowing the team to focus on a single vision and build on the popularity of Astro's Playroom."
The announcement continued:
"In addition, the roles of external production, software localization, and IP management of Japan Studio titles will be concentrated within the global functions of PlayStation Studios."
Team Asobi is responsible for Astro's Playroom – arguably one of the best launch titles on PS5. Taking full advantage of DualSense's haptics, Astro's Playroom was an excellent introduction to the next-gen tech packed into Sony's new console.
The team recently announced it's working on a new game, although details remain murky.
"While we are growing and challenging bigger things, our mission at heart remains the same as ever: bring you PlayStation magic, innovation and put smiles on your faces with fun, colorful games for all ages," Nicolas Doucet, studio director and creator director at Team Asobi, said. " We wanted to take this chance to thank all of you, the PlayStation fans, for your kind words of support over the years, especially since Astro made its big debut on PlayStation 5 alongside the DualSense wireless controller.