Rumor: New First-Party PlayStation Game Passes Big Milestone

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The internal game development at PlayStation, nicknamed ‘Gummy Bears,’ is said to be moving into pre-alpha testing phase. This news sheds light on the project’s advancement and underscores PlayStation’s determination to continue investing in live-service projects, despite some expensive setbacks in the past.

Back in August 2023, I was thrilled to learn about an exciting new project within Bungie studios, code-named “Gummy Bears.” This intriguing title, as they shared in their recruitment tweet, draws inspiration from a diverse range of genres – from MOBAs and fighting games to life sims, platformers, and even those adorable ‘frog-type games.’

Fast forward to July 2024, and the studio underwent some changes. Regrettably, they had to let go of over 200 team members while also reassigning approximately 150 staffers to different divisions within Sony Interactive Entertainment. You might recall that Sony acquired Bungie in July 2022 for a whopping $3.6 billion.

These changes, however, seemed to foster new opportunities. The Gummy Bears development team was spun off and given the chance to establish their own studio, called teamLFG. Excitingly, Sony officially announced the launch of this new venture in May 2025. I can’t wait to see what they create next!

New Evidence Points to Gummy Bears Entering Pre-Alpha Testing

Approximately a few months after, it seems that teamLFG might be seeking to bring on board a “Community Developer (Staff)” based on a job posting noticed by The Game Post. The position’s description suggests that the company is readying pre-alpha community testing for its upcoming game. Unlike typical community managers in game development, this role is depicted as more of a ‘Behind-the-Scenes Designer’, responsible for constructing ‘out-of-game’ events and systems to enhance engagement. Essentially, the job listing indicates that teamLFG is gearing up to let pre-alpha testers try their new game just months after it was unveiled as the latest entrant to PlayStation Studios.

Gummy Bears Pre-Alpha Will Reportedly Be Discord-Centric

The article highlights Discord as crucial for establishing our project’s initial community, outlining tasks such as setting up the server layout, organizing events, drafting policies, and integrating bots. An ideal candidate would be capable of performing these tasks independently, with the long-term aim being to foster self-governing communities. This suggests that our pre-alpha testing for the Gummy Bears will predominantly focus on Discord, a common practice in modern games, particularly those seeking substantial player feedback and offering beta testers an opportunity to play during development.

Gummy Bears Release May Be Years Away

In simpler terms, the fact that Gummy Bears are about to enter pre-alpha testing indicates that the game is likely halfway through its pre-release development stage. If a pre-alpha test begins before the end of 2025, we might see an alpha version in 2026 and a beta version in 2027. Assuming no significant issues arise, this could mean the game will be released somewhere between late 2027 and early 2028. This is based on common modern game development timelines for projects of medium scale (early reports showed teamLFG had around 40 members in early 2025). Although the developer might not say anything about the game now, starting the pre-alpha phase could lead to some leaks, possibly more details about Gummy Bears gameplay, if not actual footage.

TeamLFG, being a studio owned by Sony, is certain to launch their first game on PlayStation consoles. There have been whispers about Gummy Bears possibly being developed for the Nintendo Switch as well, but given that it’s just entering pre-alpha development, any potential Nintendo release may be aimed at the more powerful upcoming Switch 2 instead.

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2025-08-28 01:27