Twisted Metal remains one of PlayStation's most iconic IPs despite the franchise's absence from from Sony's consoles since 2012's reboot. Although there was an unnamed live-service Twisted Metal game in the works at one point, it was canceled early on in its development.
Not much had been known about the game, which was in development at Firesprite, but a former programmer who worked on the game has now shared some screenshots from it. UI Programmer Hugo Silva posted a couple of screenshots from the now-canceled Twisted Metal game on his site and although they were blurred due to being under a non-disclosure agreement, there are quite a few noticeable details we can make out.
Although Twisted Metal is known primarily as a vehicular-based car-battling game, there are screenshots that clearly show off third-person shooter gameplay outside of the vehicle. It would appear that while much of the combat would take place in vehicles, you would be able to get out of your car as well.
The game's description suggested that Twisted Metal would follow a battle royale format. It explains that the game “had 3rd person shooter mechanics wrapped with 3rd person vehicle combat with the objective of being the last one standing.”
The page has since been taken down and the images removed, but it's clear that Sony and Firesprite were hoping to capitalize on the battle royale trend that took hold of the gaming industry a few years ago. While Fortnite remains popular, the battle royale craze has tapered down a bit since then.
It certainly would've been a wild twist on the franchise which has only featured vehicular combat. Perhaps though, it was taking influence from Peacock's Twisted Metal show. Although the series puts an emphasis on driving and vehicles, it did feature plenty of action outside of the cars.
Twisted Metal made its debut in 1995 for the original PlayStation. The game focused on the titular competition in which various drivers in modified vehicles must destroy the other vehicles in an attempt to be the last one alive. So in a sense, Twisted Metal was the very first battle royale game. Following the game's commercial success, Sony Interactive Studios America and developer SingleTrac released a sequel, Twisted Metal 2, in 1996.
Since then, there have been numerous follow-ups, including Twisted Metal III and Twisted Metal 4 in 1998 and 1999, respectively. Twisted Metal: Black was released in 2001, but the most recent game in the franchise was the 2012 reboot Twisted Metal. The game consisted of three story arcs that focused on Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm, and Dollface.
Despite the generally positive reviews, 2012's Twisted Metal is the last we've seen from the franchise on a PlayStation gaming console. It's unclear what Sony intends to do with the franchise but if it picks up enough traction with the Peacock series — Season 2 premieres this Summer — then perhaps Sony will consider reviving the video game series.