PS1 Game Developers – Where Are They Now?

Our celebration of PlayStation’s 20th anniversary in North America keeps on rolling! On this historic week, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the developers who made the PlayStation such a special console.

We also wanted to see what these studios were still up to today, if they even still existed! To do just that, we chose 15 of the most prolific PS1 developers (and some of our personal favorites) and gave them the Where Are They Now treatment.

While it’s certainly a bummer that some of the most talented developers of the PlayStation era no longer exist, there are still several that continue to be great developers to this very day. Plus the memories that these developers helped create will live on forever in the hearts of gamers!

Let us know in the comments who your favorite PlayStation developer was!

where are they now

PS1 Developers – Where Are They Now?
989 Studios

989 Studios should be a name that is very familiar to those that enjoyed sports games, or played later games in popular series such as Cool Boarders, Twisted Metal, and Jet Moto. This internal division of Sony Computer Entertainment America was shut down in 2000, but the 989 Sports name continued to be used until 2005 when Gretzky NHL 2006 released.
Argonaut Games

Argonaut Games was one of the original game developers as they debuted on the Commodore 64, but they first found mainstream success with Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. This surprise hit of a platformer was followed up with a pretty lackluster sequel, and Argonaut worked on licensed games such as Catwoman: The Game until they closed their doors in 2004.
Camelot Software Planning

Despite the Hot Shots Golf series being associated with developer Clap Hanz, the series was created by Camelot Software Planning. After making the first game for Sony, Camelot would partner with Nintendo to work on games such as Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. Thankfully for golf fans, this means we've received great golfing games on multiple platforms! Camelot is currently working on Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash for Wii U.
Crystal Dynamics

While Crystal Dynamics are largely associated with Tomb Raider nowadays, their first big hit was Gex. The loudmouth gecko proved popular enough to receive two sequels. Crystal Dynamics also took over the Legacy of Kain series and made four sequels to the game originally developed by Silicon Knights.

In 2006, Crystal Dynamics took over the Tomb Raider series from Core Design after they closed down.
DMA Design

When the PlayStation launched, DMA Design was known as the team that made Lemmings. This would quickly change after they released Grand Theft Auto in 1997. This top-down open world game was unlike anything else on the market and was a huge success for the British developer. DMA Design would close in 2000, and rebrand as Rockstar North, the makers of some of the most beloved games of all-time such as Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto V.
Idol Minds

While UEP Systems started the Cool Boarders series, it was developer Idol Minds who ended up taking over the beloved snowboarding series. Cool Boarders wasn't the only series that Idol Minds continued on PlayStation, as their first title was Rally Cross 2. Perhaps today Idol Minds is best known for being the team behind Pain and the now cancelled Warrior's Lair. After the cancellation, Idol Minds has largely worked as an Android and iOS developer.
Insomniac

Founded in 1994, Insomniac would put out their first game, Disruptor, out on PlayStation two years later. Disruptor received positive reviews, but was a commercial failure. Insomniac's luck would change in 1998 when they released Spyro the Dragon. Insomniac had a bona-fide hit on their hands, and they would go on to be one of the most beloved developers for PlayStation fans. Their close relationship with Sony has continued to this day, and they are currently working on a reboot of Ratchet & Clank for PlayStation 4.
Naughty Dog

Jason and Andy's Magic wasn't very magical for the first few years as a studio. It wasn't until they changed their name to Naughty Dog and released Crash Bandicoot in 1996 that they became a success. And what a success they would become! Ever since 1996, Naughty Dog has been considered one of the best developers. With games like Uncharted 4 in the works, and The Last of Us recently released, it doesn't seem like that will be changing!
Neversoft

Neversoft burst on the PlayStation scene with well received titles such as Skeleton Warriors, MDK, and Apocalypse. But it wasn't until 1999 until they reached their full potential. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was a complete game changer. It helped make skateboarding into a nationwide sensation, and spawned a wide variety of extreme sports clones. Neversoft also put out the excellent Spider-Man on PlayStation in 2000.

The subsidiary of Activision would go on to develop 9 Tony Hawk games (and Gun) until they were tasked with taking over Guitar Hero in 2007. Neversoft would work on Guitar Hero titles until 2010 when the market for plastic instruments largely faded away.

Their last work as a studio would be work on Call of Duty: Ghosts. Then on July 10, 2014 Neversoft would become defunct and officially merge with Infinity Ward.
Psygnosis

Acquired by Sony in 1993, Psygnosis would make some of the most beloved PlayStation games. These included Wipeout XL, G-Police, and Colony Wars. In 2001, Psygnosis was renamed Studio Liverpool, and continued to make racing games. Their final game developed was Wipeout 2048 on PlayStation Vita, as Sony closed the studio in 2012.
Runecraft

Founded in 1997, Runecraft would find plenty of success on PlayStation with releases such as Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX, and the Spec Ops series. They would also work on several licensed games, with several Barbie titles under their belt. The British developer would later run into financial trouble, and eventually went defunct in 2003. Their final game was a game based off the BBC television show FightBox.
SingleTrac

Even if you don't remember the name, you probably played one of SingleTrac's PlayStation titles. They were behind some of the biggest hits such as WarHawk, Twisted Metal, and Jet Moto. The standout developer would close down in 2000, with many of its series being continued by 989 Games and Incognito Entertainment.
Squaresoft

Squaresoft, the American arm of Square, was one of the most beloved publishers on PlayStation. The put out several great RPGs such as Final Fantasy games and Chrono Cross. Square would end up merging with another Japanese publisher, Enix, in 2003 to form Square-Enix. Not much has changed since the PlayStation days, as they are still making Final Fantasy VII. Go figure.
Tamsoft

Tamsoft first got their name out into the consciousness of PlayStation gamers when they released Battle Arena Toshinden as a launch title. The Japanese developer would then go on to release several sequels to Toshinden and developed the Simple 1500 series of budget games. Tamsoft is still around today, as they are the developer behind Senran Kagura and Onechanbara Z2: Chaos.
UEP Sytems

UEP Systems made extreme sports games before they were cool. They successfully released two Cool Boarder titles until Sony put 989 Studios on the series. They went on to release the cult classic Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman, but closed in 2001 due to financial issues. UEP Systems' final released game was Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder.