One of the UK’s oldest game development studios Psygnosis which later became SCE Studio Liverpool has been shutdown as of today.

SCE Studio Liverpool/Psygnosis were best known for the futuristic racing series Wipeout and for creating a series of licensed F1 game until 2007.

Sony released a statement on the closure:

As part of SCE Worldwide Studios, we do regular reviews to ensure that the resources we have can create and produce high quality, innovative and commercially viable projects in an increasingly competitive market place. As part of this process, we have reviewed and assessed all current and planned projects for the short and medium term and have decided to make some changes to our European Studios.

It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements.

However, it was felt that by focusing our investment plans on other Studios that are currently working on exciting new projects, we would be in a stronger position to offer the best possible content for our consumers.

Our Liverpool Facility will continue to operate, housing a number of other vital WWS!E and SCEE Departments.

This should not take anything away from the great work WWS are doing and the incredible games and services that we have made, and continue to make, both for this coming year and further in the future.

It is always sad to see a studio get shutdown especially one which has being running for more than 20 years. Hopefully those who lost their jobs in closure will be able to find new jobs as soon as possible.

UPDATE: Studio Liverpool has created and released an image thanking fans for some great memories. The image can be seen at the top of this article.

Source: Kotaku