Shadow of the Colossus Creator Mourns Bluepoint's Sudden Shutdown

Shadow of the Colossus Creator Mourns Bluepoint's Sudden Shutdown

Fumito Ueda, the visionary director behind Shadow of the Colossus, is grappling with disappointment after Sony shuttered Bluepoint Games earlier this year. The studio, celebrated for its meticulous remake work on both Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus, caught Ueda off guard with no advance warning of its closure.

In an interview with IGN, Ueda expressed genuine sadness about losing a collaborator he had worked with multiple times over the years, including on the 2011 Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection and the acclaimed 2018 Shadow of the Colossus remake. He voiced hope that future opportunities with Bluepoint might have materialized.

"We're not directly in relation with any project, so I heard about it at the same time you guys probably did in the news, and it was disappointing and sad to hear," Ueda said. "I would have hoped that maybe in the future there could be a chance to work with them on something. So yeah, it's very sad to hear the news."

When asked what project he might have pursued with Bluepoint had the studio survived, Ueda's mind turned naturally to the studio's specialty: remakes. The possibility of an Ico remake surfaced in the conversation, with Ueda responding positively to the suggestion. "Maybe Ico," he said with a smile, hinting at what could have been a dream project for fans of his original work.

The 2018 Shadow of the Colossus remake stands as a high-water mark for how to modernize a classic, making the loss of Bluepoint particularly poignant for those hoping to see similar treatment applied to other Ueda creations. Ico, in particular, represents fertile ground for a contemporary remake.

Bluepoint's final years proved tumultuous. The studio spent considerable time developing an unannounced live-service God of War title before Sony canceled that project in early 2025. In its waning months, Bluepoint pitched several new concepts, including a Ghost of Tsushima spinoff, a Bloodborne remaster, and a new Shadow of the Colossus remake. None gained traction.

While Bluepoint's fate remains sealed, Ueda himself is moving forward with gen ATLAS, a new sci-fi adventure featuring giant robots that marks a departure from the fantasy worlds that have defined his career. Developed through his new studio genDESIGN in partnership with Epic Games, the project represents his first game outside the PlayStation ecosystem.

The loss of Bluepoint joins a growing list of PlayStation acquisition missteps, underscoring a troubling pattern within Sony's gaming division of acquiring studios only to dismantle them years later.

Author Emily Chen: "Bluepoint's closure is a genuine loss for the industry, but seeing Ueda open to fresh creative territory with gen ATLAS suggests the best work might still be ahead."

Comments