Sony Will Publish Bad Robot Games’ First In-House Co-op Shooter

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has signed a publishing and production deal with Bad Robot Games for the studio’s internally developed shooter planned for PlayStation 5 and PC. The partnership, announced on Dec. 4, will bring a new IP with “an expansive vision for this new universe,” as stated by Bad Robot Games’ CEO Anna Sweet.

According to SIE’s press release, the project is directed by Mike Booth, known for Left 4 Dead, a title that defined the modern co-op shooter scenario. The upcoming title, still unnamed, is confirmed to be a AAA four-player cooperative shooter.

Booth has teased the project in Sep. 2025, and it's still in the early development stage. While the exact narrative of the game is yet to be announced, it could be a “cross platforms, cross mediums, and are based on IP originating from both games and linear content,” game, based on Sweet’s claims back in 2021.

Bad Robot Games, the gaming division of J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production, houses veterans from the media industry, writers, concept artists, composers, and like, to combine different artistic expertise for innovative games. While the studio has worked before on Silent Hill: Ascension and Weird West, the current project with Sony will be their first in-house title, since the studio started its operation back in 2020.

Why Sony is Betting on a Co-op Shooter

As cross-media prospects rise, Hollywood-adjacent firms are increasingly venturing into game creation, as observed recently with Warner Bros. Games, Disney, and Netflix. Bad Robot Games’ and Sony's choice also takes market performance into account; cooperative shooters continue to be profitable when they maintain a sustained engagement.

Sony’s hit co-op shooter, Helldivers 2, became significantly profitable for the publisher by driving most of its revenue from Steam. The title was also the top-selling game of 2024 for a majority of the year, until the place was overtaken by EA Sports College Football 25.

While Sony hosts multiple successful PC and PlayStation titles, the recent Steam data pointed out that the appetite for sequels is decreasing and becoming a drag on Sony’s overall revenue. With a proven success with shooter titles and an increasing appetite for new, well-made premium IPs, it’s logical for SIE to bet on newer and more diversified pipelines. 

SIE’s VP and Head of 2P/3P Content Ventures & Strategic Initiatives, Christian Svensson, noted, Bad Robot Games’ “unique creative voice and passion for innovating across all forms of interactive entertainment perfectly aligns with SIE’s mission,” to express his excitement and hope for the upcoming title. 

As of this writing, a potential release window, budget, and narrative details have not been announced for the project.