If a recently discovered resume is to be believed, the PlayStation-owned studio Media Molecule could be working on a new open-world video game. Media Molecule’s next PlayStation project was first teased in April 2024 via a job listing that claimed the studio was working on a brand-new IP.
Founded in 2006, Media Molecule has been a PlayStation first-party studio since 2010. Over the last two decades or so, Media Molecule has become famous for its assortment of creative, family-friendly video game experiences, with it creating both the LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway franchises. Media Molecule’s most recent release was 2020’s Dreams, something of an evolution of LittleBigPlanet‘s user-generated systems that was unfortunately shut down in September 2023. A month later, Media Molecule suffered layoffs. It was reported that 20 developers were laid off from the studio, and in early 2024 it was rumored that the studio was close to being shutdown completely. Since then, Media Molecule has seemingly suffered no more layoffs, and it’s believed to have been quietly working on a mysterious, yet-unannounced project.
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On May 25, MP1st released a report claiming that it had discovered the resume of an unidentified artist currently working at Media Molecule. This resume comes from a “Senior Environment Designer” who has worked on an “Unannounced project, New IP” for the PlayStation-owned studio. Arguably the most intriguing insight this resume gives fans eagerly awaiting Media Molecule’s next game is that the project may feature “open-world content.”
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If this resume is accurate and indicative of the final product, then Media Molecule’s next project could simultaneously be a departure for the studio and a return to its roots. Most of Media Molecule’s past games have been fairly linear platforming adventure games, and Dreams traded that usual structure in for a more experimental one. Back in May 2024, former Creative Director and one of Media Molecule’s original founders, Mark Healey, stated that the studio’s next game would be “more of a game than a creative tool,” suggesting a return to a more traditional gameplay structure following Dreams. But if these mentions of open-world content are true, then Media Molecule’s next game could still be pushing the studio into uncharted waters.
Along with being the “main contact/vision holder” of open-world content, the developer’s resume lists another handful of duties that could tease a little more about Media Molecule’s next game. For instance, the resume states that the developer provided feedback and reviewed other level designers’ levels, which is a statement that would line up with Healey’s comments in 2024 that claimed Media Molecule’s next project is more of a traditional game than Dreams, one with developer-created levels.
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There’s been no official word from PlayStation or Media Molecule about what the studio is working on. There’s a chance this project could be revealed during the upcoming June 2 Sony State of Play, but that’s purely speculation at this point.
