A Resume Just Blew Media Molecule's Open-World Secret

"We have made significant strategic changes during the past year, including the transition of the whole studio onto a new project."

That was Media Molecule back in October 2023, addressing layoffs that cut roughly 20% of its staff while confirming a full pivot away from Dreams. Nearly three years later, we still haven't seen a single frame of whatever that new project is. But thanks to someone's publicly visible resume, we now have a much better idea of what the LittleBigPlanet and Dreams creator has been building in silence.

As reported by MP1st, the online portfolio of a senior environment designer currently at Media Molecule describes work on an "unannounced project" and "new IP" that features "open-world content." The designer lists themselves as "feature owner, main contact/vision holder of various open-world content" and describes responsibilities including "level blocking out main POIs (Points of Interest), moment-to-moment gameplay," and something called "forage design." That last detail is particularly interesting. Forage design implies resource-gathering mechanics, which could point toward crafting or survival systems.

From Sandboxes to Open Worlds

This is a studio that has spent its entire existence making creative tools disguised as games. LittleBigPlanet was a platformer built around user-generated levels. Dreams was essentially a game engine you could play, and IGN gave it a 9/10 for how far it pushed that concept. Former Creative Director Mark Healey has already said the new project is "more of a game than a creative tool," but open-world content with points of interest and foraging systems? That's not a gentle evolution. That's a completely different studio.

I'm curious how this plays out. Media Molecule has always punched above its weight creatively, but open-world development is a resource-hungry beast that has chewed up studios with far bigger headcounts. This is a team that went through significant layoffs and was reportedly close to closure in early 2024. Building an open-world game under those conditions is ambitious in a way that's either inspiring or concerning, and I'm not sure which yet.

It's also worth remembering that "open-world content" doesn't automatically mean a sprawling Ubisoft-style map. Media Molecule could be building something more contained, a non-linear 3D platformer with exploration zones rather than a massive sandbox. The resume language is suggestive but not definitive, and games in pre-production shift constantly.

For anyone holding out hope for a new LittleBigPlanet, this resume explicitly describes a new IP. Sackboy was also removed from PlayStation Productions branding recently, so that franchise looks increasingly dormant. Sumo Digital handled the last two LittleBigPlanet entries, so a return isn't impossible through that route, but Media Molecule itself has clearly moved on.

With Sony's State of Play confirmed for June 2nd and set to run over 60 minutes, the timing is at least plausible for a reveal. Media Molecule said it began transitioning to this project in 2023, which would put development at roughly three years. Whether that's enough runway for something open-world depends entirely on scope, but if the studio has something to show, next week would be the stage for it.