Team Asobi, the Tokyo-based developer that survived the reported recent restructuring of Sony’s Japan Studio, is getting a rebrand all around Astro Bot.
Sony this week revealed a new logo for the developer, which is still run by Astro Bot Rescue Mission Creative Director, Nicolas Doucet. It features a colorful logo with Astro’s face. In more art on the PlayStation Blog the mascot himself can be seen running alongside it.
Clearly the team is tying itself closely to the character after two critically acclaimed games – Rescue Mission remains at the top of our Best PSVR Games list and free PS5 launch title, Astro’s Playroom, has been very well recieved. Doucet noted that Team Asobi is now “growing” but will still focus on “fun, colorful games for all ages.”
At the same time, a Q&A with PlayStation Studios boss, Herman Hulst, confirms that Team Asobi is “developing a franchise for all ages with global appeal.” It certainly sounds like this could be a new Astro project.
The only question remains is if we could see Astro return to his PSVR roots. Sony is making a new VR headset for PS5 so it certainly seems possible but, given the reception to Astro’s Playroom, Sony might want to make a new game for a broader audience, too. Perhaps it’s possible we’ll see a flatscreen game with VR support, or two Astro projects, one for each platform. That’s all just speculation for now, though.
