Peter Molyneux Very Nearly Became a First-Party PlayStation Dev

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Sony wanted to buy Bullfrog, the legendary UK studio founded by Peter Molyneux.

In a recent interview with The Game Business celebrating its 30th anniversary, long-time PlayStation producer Martin Alltimes shared that Sony almost acquired the studio behind the Theme Park series.

He revealed:

We seriously considered buying Bullfrog, the company founded by Peter Molyneux. He showed us ideas for games, including a sequel to Dungeon Keeper and a concept called ‘The Indestructibles,’ neither of which were ever released. Ultimately, we realized it would have been simpler and more cost-effective to just acquire the entire company.

After Sony made an offer, Les Edgar, the head of Bullfrog, quickly reached out to EA to see if they would try to outbid Sony. Peter Molyneux was incredibly popular and successful then, making it impossible for any publisher to decline his projects.

Bullfrog continued to produce successful games, such as Magic Carpet 2, before Peter Molyneux moved on. He then founded Lionhead Studios, which Microsoft later acquired.

Peter Molyneux is famous for his ambitious and often unrealistic game ideas. However, it’s easy to see why Sony was interested in working with him, particularly in the 1990s when his games were consistently successful.

If he and his team had joined Sony as one of their in-house development groups, things could have turned out very differently in the gaming industry.

He might have been fascinated by the EyeToy and proposed a project – let’s say, something like Project Milo?

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2025-10-07 22:06