Deviation Games

Deviation Games was an independent video game developer founded in 2020 by Dave Anthony and Jason Blundell, veteran directors associated with the Call of Duty: Black Ops series. The studio focused on original AAA intellectual property, combining action and first-person shooter development with narrative worldbuilding, character design, animation and visual effects.

The company publicly emerged at Summer Game Fest on June 10, 2021, announcing a partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment to develop an original game for PlayStation 5. Sony provided publishing and financial backing through an external development agreement; Deviation remained independently owned.

Its development capabilities spanned game design, engineering, art, audio and narrative, alongside gameplay prototyping and Unreal Engine development. Based in Southern California, the studio also launched a Canadian recruitment initiative in January 2022 to draw on developers working across Canadian gaming hubs.

Development and closure

Deviation's debut project remained unannounced throughout production. Following Blundell's departure in September 2022, the studio continued development under Anthony's leadership. The publishing contract was cancelled in early 2023, and approximately 90 employees were laid off that May.

Unable to secure replacement publishing support or financing, Deviation Games closed on March 8, 2024. Its original PlayStation project was cancelled before release, and the company never shipped a commercial game.