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

Brand new images of Sony's canceled Twisted Metal game have surfaced online, revealing 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, though the images are blurred and marked "Under NDA." These screenshots fall under the codename Project Copper, which is believed to be the internal name for the unannounced live-service Twisted Metal game.

Despite Twisted Metal being a vehicle combat video game franchise that originated on the PSone and not having a new installment since the PlayStation 3 generation, the developer described Project Copper as a "third-person vehicular action combat game based on a classic IP owned by PlayStation and developed by Firesprite."

They further explained: "It had third-person shooter mechanics wrapped with third-person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing" (thanks, MP1st).

Sony reportedly canceled Twisted Metal amid mass layoffs announced in February 2024. At the time, the game "wasn't yet greenlit" but had been in development at the UK studio Firesprite, which Sony confirmed was affected by the cuts.

The 100 Best PlayStation Games of All Time

100 ImagesTwisted Metal was set aside as part of Sony's broader retreat from live service games following a major internal push to create 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 significantly impacted its ability to develop future single-player games.

While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a breakout success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time, Sony's live service hero shooter Concord was a major disappointment, lasting only a few weeks before being taken offline due to extremely low player counts. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game entirely and shut down its developer.

In January, Sony canceled two unannounced live service games, one being a God of War title developed by Bluepoint, and the other from the Days Gone developer Bend.

Although it seems unlikely we'll see a new Twisted Metal game 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 awarded it an 8/10, stating: "Though overloaded with jokes at times, Twisted Metal is a miraculously enjoyable blend of comedy, violence, and thoughtfulness."