Summary
A new finding suggests that Sony may be reviving one of its popular arcade racing franchises from thePlayStation 3era. Several legacy PlayStation franchises have made a comeback in recent memory, and Sony could be preparing to add a fan-favoritePS3IP to the list - one that has been dormant for over 13 years.
Over the past few months, Sony has placed a greater emphasis on breathing new life into PlayStation’s legacy franchises. Back in December 2024, PlayStation Studio Group CEO Hermen Hulst confirmed that the gaming giant was continually exploring opportunities to leverage its classic IPs in the modern era. This statement came shortly after therelease ofHelldivers 2’sKillzone 2crossover content, which was received very well by fans of both franchises. Then, in January 2025, PlayStation and Bandai Namco teamed up to releaseFreedom Wars: Remastered, a revamped iteration of the 2014 PS Vita first-party action RPG.
After theannouncement ofPatapon 1+2 ReplayandEverybody’s Golf: Hot Shotsat the March 2025 Nintendo Direct, it became clear that Sony had licensed even more PlayStation IPs to Bandai Namco. Now, it appears another classic Sony franchise could be in line for a revival, as a PlayStation XDEV employee was reportedly seen sharing job listings for Stellar Entertainment, a Dutch studio that notably supported development of 2024’sHorizon: Zero Dawn Remastered.Stellar Entertainment’s websitementions that the studio is currently working on a AAA arcade racing game built in Unreal Engine 5, and some PlayStation fans are speculating that thismight be aMotorStormremake.
Sony May Have Greenlit a MotorStorm Revival
Developed by now-defunct PlayStation first-party team Evolution Studios,MotorStormwas Sony’s premier arcade racing game series in the PS3 days. It was heavily centered around off-road racing, with players participating in the fictionalMotorStormfestival and blasting through cross-country tracks in buggies, ATVs, bikes, rally cars, racing trucks, etc. The firstMotorStormgame launched in March 2007 in the US and turned out quite successful, with three million copies sold in its lifetime. Four moreMotorStormgames followed, with the last entry releasing in 2012 on PS3 and PS Vita. Since then, theMotorStormIP has laid dormant, and is frequently brought up by PlayStation fans as afranchise that Sony should revisit, especially given the dearth of off-road-focused arcade racing games these days.
Driveclub Was Another PlayStation Arcade Racer, Albeit Not as Fondly Remembered
Interestingly,MotorStormisn’t the only Evolution-developed arcade racing game in PlayStation’s back-catalog, as the studio also releasedDriveclubas a year-one PS4 title in 2014.Driveclubwas heavily praised for its incredibly realistic visuals and audio design, which remain impressive even to this day. Unfortunately,Driveclub’s critical receptionwas rather lukewarm, with reviewers noting that the single-player mode was rather dull and the physics and AI weren’t quite up to par with other arcade racers. Regardless, there’s some demand among fans for Sony to give theDriveclubIP another shot, that too with an open-world format to better compete with theForza Horizonseries.
Only time will tell whether Stellar Entertainment is working on aMotorStormorDriveclubrevival, and there’s also the possibility that the project is a new IP altogether. However, given Stellar Entertainment’s standing as a support studio, the chances of it developing a fully original game are lower.
