The Getaway slips away

The Getaway and Eight Days are in development limbo because Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has stopped work on the two games from the London studio. The decision was made so that the company could "redistribute resources and budget" toward other first-party projects.

In a statement, a Sony spokesperson said, "This decision was made following an internal review of all games, and it was deemed that with the incredibly strong list of exclusive first-party titles coming up both this year and in the near future, resource[s] should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion."

Announced at E3 2006, Eight Days was a PlayStation 3 game that combined third-person shooting with driving action. The Getaway, also for the PS3, was to continue on from the PlayStation 2 game, which was released in 2002 and spawned a sequel and a PlayStation Portable spin-off called Gangs of London. Little was known about the modern action-adventure game other than the fact that it was to be set in a photorealistic London.

Sony London, which was established in 2003 by the merging of Getaway developer Team Soho and Studio Camden, has previously worked on games including EyeToy: Play and SingStar Pop. The studio employs around 225 people.

This isn't the only shake-up at Sony's internal studios. Last month, it was announced that Shuhei Yoshida--at the time senior vice president--would be stepping up to the plate as the new Sony Worldwide Studios head. Yoshida replaced Phil Harrison, who left after 15 years to go to Infogrames.