New images have surfaced online from Sony's canceled Twisted Metal game, suggesting that developer Firesprite was working on a live service game that combined the series' iconic vehicular combat with battle royale elements. A former UI developer at Sony-owned Firesprite shared several screenshots on their online portfolio. Although the images are blurred and marked "Under NDA," they are linked to the codename Project Copper, believed to be the internal name for the unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.
The Twisted Metal franchise, known for its vehicle combat gameplay, originated on the PSone and hasn't seen a new entry since the PlayStation 3 generation. According to the developer, Project Copper was described as a "third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation and developed by Firesprite." The project aimed to integrate third-person shooter mechanics with third-person vehicle combat, with the goal of being the last player standing, as reported by MP1st.
Sony reportedly canceled the Twisted Metal project as part of widespread layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game was still in development at the UK studio Firesprite, which Sony confirmed was affected by the layoffs. The game had not yet been greenlit.
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The cancellation of Twisted Metal reflects Sony's broader retreat from live service games, following an aggressive push to develop more of these titles. Naughty Dog halted development on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the need to dedicate all resources to post-launch content for years, which would have hindered their ability to create future single-player games.
While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a massive success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, Sony's live service hero shooter Concord was a significant failure. It lasted only a few weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player numbers, leading Sony to cancel the game and shut down its developer.
In January, Sony also canceled two other unannounced live service games: one a God of War title developed by Bluepoint, and another from the Days Gone developer Bend.
Although a new Twisted Metal game seems unlikely in the near future, the Twisted Metal TV series starring Anthony Mackie is set to return for Season 2 on Peacock. IGN's review of Twisted Metal Season 1 gave it an 8/10, praising it as "a miraculously enjoyable blend of comedy, violence, and thoughtfulness," despite its occasional overload of humor.
