Cambridge was working on Primal 2 for PS4 launch?

[Rorono]

Seeing as how Primal PS2-for-PS4 was rated back in December i've been eagerly anticipating its release and remembered to dig around the web for info on what happened to the game's staff
Came across something I already knew, that the sequel for PS2 was cancelled in favor of 24: The Game (thanks Sony..) Primal 2 (PS2 - Cancelled) - Unseen64

But then noticed this in the comments

Primal 2 was in development as a concept for PS2 by Cambridge (as Paul said on Playstation Blog) but when the studio got the license to 24, we moved to that. (Yes, I am a former employee of SCEC). We did however actually start development of Primal 2 up again around November (December?) of 2011 under the working codename of "Demon Huntress" (To throw any potential leaks off). Unfortunately, Sony laid off a ton of our staff (Including Me) in January 2013 and Primal 2 was cancelled. It was being developed as a PS4 launch title and when cancelled it was actually I would estimate 80% completed. We were actually in talks with Hudson Leick and she was set to return and voice Jen. Its a shame this didn't happen, because I believe it really would have been a hit. It was open world, it was a revival of a cult favorite, and it had online multiplayer. What could have gone wrong? Its ridiculous, they cancelled the game during the lay offs and restructure, and instead our side project, Killzone Mercenary, was released instead. Now they are developing some awful looking VR game. What a crock.

Don't know if this guy was legit or a disgruntled Primal fan but the unseen guy did not seem to question him at all and either knows who he is or simply didn't think it was fake, I don't know. Being 80% completed and having online MP raises a few eyebrows personally, as far as believing it goes, but it's possible, I mean Santa Monica's game was far ahead and got cancelled, plus Ascension also got MP tacked on.

Regardless, i'd certainly be disappointed if they cancelled it for a freaking handheld shooter and a freaking vr shooter

Couple this (if true) with Shu's old statement of focusing on MP/social games (which thankfully they don't seem to be following) after Eight Days cancellation, prioritising Knack over The Last Guardian (??), Santa Monica's screw up, Bend wasting a full year on rejected pitches, delays and bumpy launches, and I can't say that I disagree with "Shu's gotta go".

[darkknightkryta]

That sucks.  I was actually willing to buy Primal on PS4 when they do the... whatever you'd call PS2 emulation on PS4.

[DerNebel]

Sounds like a lot of bollocks to me and even if he's telling the truth and such a game was cancelled, chances are the dude is severely overestimating the quality of what he was working on, a game doesn't just get cancelled at that point with no reason. Also his last two sentences just show how salty the dude is, which makes his assessment of how "amazing" Primal 2 was going to be, even harder to take seriously. And I've never heard of Primal in the first place, so I'd very much argue how much of a "cult favourite" that game actually is.

Regarding your last paragraph I think that Shu is overall doing a good job, I appreciate that he's giving studios the chance to experiment more, even though it doesn't always work out. I still think he made a big mistake with how long it took for him to get first party studios started on PS4 development, he was lucky that it didn't end up mattering.

[darkknightkryta]

Sounds like a lot of bollocks to me and even if he's telling the truth and such a game was cancelled, chances are the dude is severely overestimating the quality of what he was working on, a game doesn't just get cancelled at that point with no reason. Also his last two sentences just show how salty the dude is, which makes his assessment of how "amazing" Primal 2 was going to be, even harder to take seriously. And I've never heard of Primal in the first place, so I'd very much argue how much of a "cult favourite" that game actually is.

Regarding your last paragraph I think that Shu is overall doing a good job, I appreciate that he's giving studios the chance to experiment more, even though it doesn't always work out. I still think he made a big mistake with how long it took for him to get first party studios started on PS4 development, he was lucky that it didn't end up mattering.

I doubt it aged well, but it has flair

[Legend]

Killzone on Vita was amazing so I have to disagree with his end point.

Cool file digging though.

[Rorono]

And I've never heard of Primal in the first place, so I'd very much argue how much of a "cult favourite" that game actually is.

Not many have. It's a very overlooked PS2 gem. Game had it (almost) all; top notch writing and professional voice acting (still better than most games today), very varied environments (each game world might as well be a part of its own game), good puzzling and two very likable main characters
But it didn't sell and Cambridge went down the pooper, like London studio also did around the same time