Canceled Twisted Metal Game Was Part Vehicular Combat, Part Shooter, Part Battle Royale, Dev Says

New images of Sony's canceled Twisted Metal game have surfaced online, suggesting developer Firesprite was creating a live-service title that combined the franchise's signature vehicular combat with battle royale elements.

A former Firesprite UI developer posted several blurred screenshots to their online portfolio. Marked "Under NDA," these images are associated with "Project Copper," the presumed internal codename for the unannounced Twisted Metal live-service game.

Despite Twisted Metal's history as a vehicle combat franchise originating on the PSone and last seen on PlayStation 3, the developer described Project Copper as "a third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic PlayStation IP and developed by Firesprite." They further clarified the gameplay: "It had third-person shooter mechanics wrapped with third-person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing." (Source: MP1st)

Sony's February 2024 layoffs reportedly included the cancellation of Twisted Metal. At the time, the game was "not yet greenlit" but under development at Firesprite, a studio impacted by the cuts.

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The cancellation of Twisted Metal reflects Sony's apparent retreat from live-service games following a significant internal push in that direction. Naughty Dog halted development on The Last of Us Online in December 2023, citing the extensive post-launch support required, which would have severely hampered its single-player game development.

While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 was a remarkable success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, Sony's live-service hero shooter, Concord, proved a major failure, lasting only a few weeks before being shut down due to extremely low player numbers. Sony subsequently closed the game's developer.

Furthermore, Sony canceled two unannounced live-service games in January—a God of War title from Bluepoint and another from Days Gone developer Bend.

Although a new Twisted Metal game seems unlikely in the near future, the Twisted Metal TV series starring Anthony Mackie will continue with Season 2 on Peacock. IGN's review of Season 1 awarded it an 8/10, praising its "miraculously enjoyable blend of comedy, violence, and thoughtfulness," despite occasional over-reliance on jokes.