Rime Dev Breaks Co-development Ties With Sony, PS4-Exclusivity in Doubt

Rime developer Tequila Works has reacquired the rights to the property from Sony and is continuing development independently.

"Tequila Works announces today that it has chosen to reacquire the rights to its open world adventure game, Rime, and is working hard to realise its aspirations for it," it said in a statement.

Speaking to Polygon, an unnamed representative for Sony confirmed "SCE is no longer proprietary of the IP, nor publisher of the game."

It is unclear whether the game is still a PlayStation 4-exclusive, or if the arrangement has been nullified. GameSpot has contacted Sony for clarification. For its part, Tequila said it would not be able to offer any more information.

Leaked documents from 2014 revealed the game was initially pitched to Microsoft as an Xbox Live Arcade game, with the name Echoes of Siren. The developer asked for a $3 million budget, but Microsoft passed on the opportunity.

The game was later greenlit by Sony, which opted to publish it as a first-party title exclusively for the PlayStation 4.

Rime made its debut at Gamescom 2013, when its colourful visuals and intriguing world garnered much interest, with some likening it to PlayStation 2 classic Ico. However, little has been seen of it since.

Rumours have pointed to tensions between Tequila and Sony. Others have suggested the game has numerous design and performance issues, though these rumours are currently unsubstantiated.

In 2014, current Xbox boss Phil Spencer discussed why Microsoft declined the option to fund Rime, and said "part of job is living with mistakes."

He continued: "Passed on Guitar Hero...I can list many misses regretfully. I try to focus on what we did ship. We'll miss some, nature of the beast ... it's why I don't hate when games ship elsewhere. Cool to see team's idea turn into [a] great game."