The Japan Studio branding began with 2006's PS3 launch game Genji: Days of the Blade, but they've existed since PlayStation's 1993 inception as a key internal developer within Sony Computer Entertainment, in a unique role. JS consisted of many internal teams such as Team ICO (ICO, Shadow of the Colossus) and Team Gravity (Siren, Gravity Rush), but an equal part of their portfolio came from external collaborations like FromSoftware (Demon's Souls, Bloodborne) and many golf games with Clap Hanz. Other JS IP include Ape Escape, Knack & Patapon.
Japan Studio's split portfolio is best seen with its PS5 launch games. While Demon's Souls was in collaboration with prestige remake developer Bluepoint, the free PS5 pack-in Astro's Playroom was created internally by Team Asobi. Both were successful, but in April 2021, JS was re-centered around Asobi to build on the popularity of Astro - effectively shuttering them.
Japan Studio's original AA games weren't considered profitable enough to continue, so Sony didn't renew most contracts outside of Asobi. Sony would instead continue with AAA cinematic games, whilst also diving into live-service. Thus leaving the AA and indie space to independent creators, third-party publishers, and second-party XDev partnerships.
To be fair to Sony, it made sense to focus on Asobi. Astro's Playroom showcased the IP's potential that was realized with 2024's award-winning Astro Bot. Its success was also greater than anything developed by other JS teams in 10+ years and Sony still has XDev for external partnerships. But these points don't negate Sony's short-sighted dismissiveness of AA games, where JS would've been a tremendous attribute for PS5 right now.
Outside of Helldivers 2, Sony's live-strategy has failed. Most second-party games are cancelled, newly acquired studios have delayed games, and many old PS Studios like Bend have been wasted this generation. This has caused Sony's first-party output to become a sporadic wasteland since 2022, resulting in the prestige of PS Studios taking a significant hit.
JS's AA games don't sell millions with a 90+ Metacritic, but the smaller scope means many would ship, thus allowing Sony to still have consistent releases. With so few AAA titles currently, there's also an opening for the hardcore base to evangelize the AA scene more than they would've pre-2022. Astro Bot perfectly shows the potential of AA games currently.
Fortunately, many ex-JS staff formed new studios to continue together, like Team Gravity's Slitterhead as Bokeh Game Studio, or Patapon staff's spiritual sequel Ratatan. Bandai Namco also licensed Everybody's Golf, Freedom Wars & Patapon from Sony to release sequels/remakes. Between these games and Asobi, Japan Studio's legacy lives on.
