Earlier in 2026, Sony closed Bluepoint Games, the studio behind the acclaimed Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus remakes. In an interview with IGN, Fumito Ueda, the original creator of Shadow of the Colossus, expressed his sorrow over Bluepoint's closure, revealing he had hoped to collaborate with the studio at least once more.
Ueda had worked with Bluepoint multiple times, including on 2011's The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection and the 2018 Shadow of the Colossus remake. "So obviously, we had no heads-up," Ueda said of Bluepoint's closure. "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. 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."
Ueda is currently working on his upcoming project, gen ATLAS, a sci-fi adventure featuring giant robots, marking a departure from the fantasy settings he's known for. But it's intriguing to consider what other project he might have collaborated on with Bluepoint. So, naturally, I asked just that.
"That would be hard to answer," Ueda explained. "I mean, maybe I guess, as we know how Bluepoint operated, is that they work on really good remakes, right? So it would be maybe something [like that]. But yeah, it's just sad that they're no longer around."
"Maybe Ico?" I asked. "Maybe Ico," he replied with a smile.
The Shadow of the Colossus remake was as good a modern interpretation of that masterpiece as we could have dreamed of in 2018, so imagining what could have been done with Ico is a tantalizing prospect. Sadly, this will never happen, especially under Bluepoint, which, as I wrote earlier this year, is yet another example of a PlayStation acquisition horror story.
Before its shutdown, Bluepoint spent several years developing an unannounced live-service God of War title. After Sony canceled that project in early 2025, the studio spent its final months pitching various new concepts, including a Ghost of Tsushima spinoff, a Bloodborne remaster, and a renewed Shadow of the Colossus remake. There was no word on Ico, however.
Still, we have new Fumito Ueda games to look forward to, as gen ATLAS received its full reveal at this year's Summer Game Fest. The debut game from The Last Guardian director's new studio, genDESIGN, will be the first of his releases not to be a PlayStation exclusive, after entering a publishing deal with Epic.
Stay tuned for more from my interview with Fumito Ueda, as we reveal everything we learned about gen ATLAS, including its themes, gameplay, and much more.
