The ambitious PS3 and PC spy MMO is no more, and 200 jobs have been lost.
Sony Online Entertainment has closed three studios in a major overhaul of its business. The massively-multiplayer online gaming specialist and creator of Everquest, has disbanded development teams in Denver, Tucson and Seattle, with the loss of over 200 jobs.
The closures have resulted in the axing of The Agency, the ambitious massively-multiplayer spy shooter, announced for the PS3 at the beginning of the machine's lifespan. The much-anticipated title promised to feature a globe-trotting espionage narrative and both co-op and competitive play.
The Agency is not the only project to be canned this month. Yesterday, Capcom cancelled its downloadable platformer, Mega Man Universe, and last week, Square Enix dropped the eccentric third-person shooter, Gun Loco.
Earlier this month, veteran developer Irem cancelled Disaster Report 4, a survival adventure based in the aftermath of a massive earthquake. Although the tragedy in Japan wasn't directly mentioned, the connection is obvious.
The axing of The Agency seems to be symbolic of the difficulties developers have had in bringing massively multiplayer titles to the PS3 ? or indeed the Xbox 360. Back in 2008, Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley asserted that the console could one day stage a massively multiplayer title capable of competing with World of Warcraft. And though there are MMOGs available ? namely DC Universe Online and Free Realms (Final Fantasy IV is due out soon) ? the genre has yet to take hold. Microsoft's machine has proven similarly resistant, although the indie studio Undead Labs is working on a Zombie MMO for the platform.
Earlier this year, there were hints that Everquest 3, the latest in the massively successful fantasy MMO series once nicknamed 'EverCrack' for its addictive qualities, may be heading to PlayStation 3, but there's been no official announcement.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/apr/01/agency-mmo-canned
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