Casualties continue at SIE Japan Studio, the Japanese PlayStation team, and this time they involve a heavyweight from the team. Gavin Moore leaves Sony, leaving behind a 24-year career with the company, in which he has participated in numerous exclusive developments both inside and outside of this Japanese team. In fact, many of you will remember his name as that of the creative director of the remake of Demon’s Souls, the return of the legendary FromSoftware adventure for PlayStation 5, by the hand of Bluepoint Games.
With Japan Studio relegated to being a support studio for the rest of the PlayStation teams, before being absorbed by ASOBI in an internal restructuring, creative losses have been a constant in the Japanese team. And while the statement of Gavin Moore on social networks does not specify the reason for his departure is inevitable that is related to it, based on his words: “After 24 years at Sony, and 18 of them in Japan, yesterday was my last day at Japan Studio. I will miss the creative spirit and camaraderie of the studio that has been a big part of my life. “
“Time to look for new and exciting opportunities !” Concludes Moore. In his career with PlayStation, this developer has participated in projects ranging from The Getaway and Siren to this recent Demon’s Souls from 2020; going through other games such as Puppeteer, Japan Studio’s platform adventure published in 2013 for PS3, of which he was its director. In a later message, the former president of PlayStation Studios, Shuhei Yoshida thanks Moore for his performance for the company, to which he replies, “It has been a great honor working with you over the years.”
Talent Flight Continues at Japan Studio
Gavin Moore’s departure is not the first big-name casualty at Japan Studio, nor does it look like it will be the last. After Hermen Hulst positioned himself at the helm of the PlayStation teams, the company’s Japanese studio has undergone numerous changes, leading to a brain drain over the past half year. Last fall, the creator of Silent Hill left Japan Studio to form his own company along with other veterans of the team, and they are already working on their first multiplatform horror game, with a view to publishing it in 2023.
And with the departure of Keiichiro Toyama, numerous members of the studio have followed suit in recent months. People like Masaaki Yamagiwa, Teruyuki Toriyama and Masami Yamamoto, all of them producers of games like Bloodborne, or also the art director of Gravity Rush 2, Shunsuke Saito.
