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Firesprite

History

Founded in 2012, Firesprite is a Liverpool-based developer formed by ex-members of first-party developer Sony Liverpool, which closed weeks prior.

Firesprite's first major game was 2018's The Persistence. It also came to other platforms like Xbox, as Sony wouldn't acquire the studio until 2021.

So far, they've released two PS5 games. An enhanced port of The Persistence and the flagship PSVR2 launch title Horizon Call of the Mountain. Neither were particularly well received.

My Analysis & Predictions

Firesprite hasn't announced anything since Horizon CoTM launched alongside PSVR2 in February 2023. Most likely due to their dire situation, post-acquisition.

Crunch was apparently necessary to ship Horizon VR. Additionally, all but one founder and many other staff left once retention bonuses were paid out.

Layoffs also took place a year later, after reports that Firesprite's unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game was cancelled.

Since then, Firesprite has been linked to a sequel to 2015's Until Dawn. A horror game that was remade in 2024 and included a new ending teasing the project.

However, between layoffs, loss of leadership, cancellations, the remake's poor sales, and none of Firesprite's games getting above 80 on Metacritic, it's hard to predict that Until Dawn 2 will succeed commercially or critically.

Horizon Call of the MMountain gameplay screenshot

PS5 Games

The Persistence Enhanced

Genre: Survival-Horror

Release Date: June 4, 2021

Days Since Their Last Game: 104

Metacritic Score: 71

Horizon Call Of The Mountain

Genre: VR Action-Adventure

Release Date: February 22, 2023

Days Since Their Last Game: 994

Metacritic Score: 79