Bluepoint Games is an American developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2006 by veterans of from Retro Studios. Since 2021, it is a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment's PlayStation Studios.
Bluepoint Games specializes in remasters and remakes. As an independent company, Bluepoint had a strong relation to Sony Interactive Entertainment, having developed the original game Blast Factor, remastered several titles from Sony's library and remade Shadow of the Colossus into a high-definition game for the PlayStation 4, followed by a remake of 2009's Demon's Souls in 2020 for the PlayStation 5. The following year the studio was acquired by Sony with the intention of moving development into original content.
Bluepoint Games received strong praise from gaming media for its polished remasters, with gaming publications lauding improved mechanics and updated graphics produced by the studio in titles such as Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. Their remakes of Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls were met with universal acclaim for their visual fidelity and graphical advancements.
History[]
2006 - 2015: Founding and early projects[]
Bluepoint Games was founded in 2006 by Andy O'Neil and Marco Thrush, two game engineers from Nintendo's Retro Studios, who both worked on Retro's debut game Metroid Prime and its sequels. Shortly after Bluepoint's founding, O'Neil and Thrush signed a deal with PlayStation maker Sony Computer Entertainment to produce a downloadable title for the PlayStation 3, Blast Factor.[1] The game received mixed reviews.[2]
Following Blast Factor, Bluepoint began to focus on remastering older titles. It collaborated with Sony's Santa Monica Studio to remaster 2005's God of War and 2007's God of War II as the God of War Collection in 2009, for the PlayStation 3.[3] The collection received critical acclaim.[4] For the PlayStation Vita version, porting duties were handed to Sanzaru Games.[5]
Bluepoint's next project was 2011's The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, a collaboration with Sony's Japan Studio and Team Ico to remaster Fumito Ueda's acclaimed titles, Ico (2001) and Shadow of the Colosss (2005), for the PlayStation 3.[6] The same year, Bluepoint also released a multiplatform remaster of Konami's Metal Gear games, in collaboration with Kojima Productions.
2015 - 2017: High-profile remasters[]
2017 - 2020: Transition into remakes[]
In October 2015, studio manager Susan Benedict passed away; Bluepoint's 2018 Shadow of the Colossus remake is dedicated in her memory.[7][8]
On June 10, 2019, O'Neil passed away at 47. Bluepoint Games announced his passing on June 17, eulogizing him for "always [pushing] Bluepoint to do great things".[9]
Bluepoint Games and Sony announced their next game, a remake for FromSoftware's Demon's Souls at Sony's PlayStation 5 reveal event in June 2020; Japan Studio was assisting the development.[10] Demon's Souls was released as a launch title for the PlayStation 5,[11] and received critical acclaim.[12]
2021 - current: Acquisition by Sony[]
In June 2021, the Japanese Twitter account of PlayStation tweeted on the acquisition of Finnish game developer Housemarque while mistakenly using a banner with Bluepoint's company name on it, before deleting on it. Sony did not comment on the event, while Bluepoint's Twitter account maintained the studio was "self-funded" and independent.[13][14] In September of that year, Sony confirmed that it entered into an agreement to acquire Bluepoint Games.[15][16] In an interview with IGN, Thrush confirmed that Bluepoint's next game will include "original content".[17]
In October 2022, Bluepoint Games was confirmed to be one of the teams that worked on Santa Monica Studio's God of War Ragnarök alongside fellow PlayStation Studios team Valkyrie Entertainment.
Studio culture[]
Relationship with other studios[]
PlayStation Studios[]
Bluepoint Games has been a subsidiary of PlayStation Studios since September 2021.
Naughty Dog[]
Bluepoint Games and Naughty Dog have been sister-studios since 2021. Prior to Bluepoint's acquisition, the studio helped remastering Naughty Dog's first three Uncharted titles under the 2015 bundle Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.
Santa Monica Studio[]
Bluepoint Games and Santa Monica Studio have been sister-studios since 2021. Prior to Bluepoint's acquisition by Sony, Bluepoint remastered the first two God of War games created by Santa Monica Studio, under the God of War Collection bundle. Following Bluepoint's acquisition in September 2021, Bluepoint was announced to be one of the partner studios working on Santa Monica Studio's 2022 title God of War Ragnarök.
Valkyrie Entertainment[]
Bluepoint Games and Valkyrie Entertainment have been sister-studios since 2021, which saw the acquisition of both companies by Sony. Both companies were among the partner studios that collaborated with Santa Monica Studio on God of War Ragnarök.
External developers[]
FromSoftware[]
For the development of 2020's Demon's Souls remake, Bluepoint Games and Sony reached out to original developer FromSoftware, whose president and game director Hidetaka Miyazaki gave his blessing to Bluepoint on their project.
Defunct[]
Japan Studio[]
Bluepoint Games worked frequently with Sony's Japan Studio prior to the latter's reconstruction and closure in April 2021. Bluepoint Games remastered Team Ico's titles Ico and Shadow of the Colossus in 2011, under the bundle The Ico & Shadow of Colossus Collection, and in 2015 remastered Team Gravity's 2012 game Gravity Rush as Gravity Rush Remastered.
Bluepoint Games further collaborated with Japan Studio on remaking two action-adventure titles from its legacy catalogue: the aforementioned Shadow of Colossus was remade in 2018 for the PlayStation 4, and Demon's Souls was remade in 2020 for the PlayStation 5. In both instances, Japan Studio's Gavin Moore served as creative director on Bluepoint's remake projects.
Games developed[]
Main developer[]
| Game title | Release | Platform | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blast Factor | 2006 | PlayStation 3 | n / a |
| God of War Collection | 2009 | PlayStation 3 | Includes 2005's God of War and 2007's God of War II; originally developed by Santa Monica Studio |
| The Ico & Shadow of Colossus Collection | 2011 | PlayStation 3 | Includes 2001's Ico and 2005's Shadow of the Colossus; originally developed by Team Ico and Japan Studio |
| Gravity Rush Remastered | 2015 | PlayStation 4 | Originally developed by Team Gravity and Japan Studio |
| Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection | 2015 | PlayStation 4 | Includes 2007's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, 2009's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and 2011's Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception; originally developed by Naughty Dog |
| Shadow of the Colossus | 2018 | PlayStation 4 | Remake of 2005's Shadow of the Colossus by Team Ico; co-developed with Japan Studio |
| Demon's Souls | 2020 | PlayStation 5 | Remake of 2009's Demon's Souls; co-developed with SIE Japan Studio |
| Unannounced project with "original content" | TBA | TBA | n / a |
Other projects[]
| Game title | Release | Platform | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale | 2012 | PlayStation Vita | Port; originally developed by SuperBot Entertainment |
| Flower | 2014 | PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita | Port; originally developed by Thatgamecompany and Santa Monica Studio |
| God of War Ragnarök | 2022 | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 | Additional support; developed by Santa Monica Studio |
References[]
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/28/who-is-bluepoint-games
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/blast-factor
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20121019045733/http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/11/17/god-of-war-collection-launches-today-for-ps3/
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/god-of-war-collection
- ↑ https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2014-god-of-war-collection-vita-face-off
- ↑ https://www.eurogamer.net/fumito-ueda-submitted-a-proposal-of-changes-for-the-shadow-of-the-colossus-ps4-remake
- ↑ https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/statesman/name/susan-benedict-obituary?id=18326545
- ↑ Shadow of the Colossus game credits.
- ↑ https://www.gamesindustry.biz/bluepoint-co-founder-andy-oneil-dies
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/ps5-demons-souls-remake
- ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/sony-confirms-demons-souls-remake-will-be-a-ps5-launch-title-2755028
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/demons-souls
- ↑ https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-may-have-accidentally-revealed-that-its-acquired-bluepoint-games
- ↑ https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/07/06/bluepoint-games-looks-to-be-debunking-playstation-acquisition-rumors-as-leak-suggests
- ↑ https://www.sie.com/en/corporate/release/2021/211001.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OH977tutoE&ab_channel=PlayStation
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-acquires-bluepoint-next-game-playstation-exclusive
External links[]
| Bluepoint Games |
|---|
| Sony Interactive Entertainment - PlayStation Studios Remasters
Technology |