Media Molecule Leaves LittleBigPlanet Behind for a PS5 Open World

By Daniel Burrows "Windfell_" Gaming News
26 May 2026 no comments

Evidence from an internal portfolio reveals that Media Molecule, the PlayStation studio celebrated for titles like LittleBigPlanet and Dreams, is shifting toward a traditional game format. The company is actively developing an unannounced project centered on a fully realized open-world environment.

Media Molecule’s next direction emerged through professional documentation rather than a formal Sony showcase. According to a CV of a Senior Environment Designer at the studio, spotted by MP1st, the person serves as a “feature owner, main contact/vision holder of various open-world content.”

Instead of providing players with the tools to build their own sandboxes, the CV suggests developers are constructing a curated proprietary world.

The leak outlines specific structural responsibilities, including level blocking for major points of interest and establishing the foundational frameworks for systematic gameplay mechanics.

What Kind of Open-World Game is Media Molecule Making?

Media Molecule is developing a narrative-driven action-adventure game centered around objective-based exploration.

Seemingly, gameplay will focus heavily on navigating curated environments and interacting with specific developer-crafted landmarks, completely abandoning the sandbox creation tools that defined their past decade of software releases.

The Senior Environment Designer’s role highlights their direct responsibilities, noting specific tasks like “level blocking out main POIs” and structuring “moment-to-moment gameplay.”

These internal development terms indicate a highly structured map filled with deliberate objectives. The resume also explicitly mentions “forage design,” suggesting the implementation of survival or crafting mechanics.

Players will likely gather resources dynamically from the environment, marking a severe contrast to the asset materialization systems found in previous games.

Is Media Molecule’s New IP Coming to PS5?

Yes, Media Molecule’s unannounced open-world project is currently in active development exclusively for the PlayStation 5. As a first-party Sony studio, the team is building this new software specifically to utilize the processing capabilities of modern PS5 hardware, leaving previous console generations behind.

While past titles like LittleBigPlanet relied heavily on community-driven architecture, this new PS5 adventure is expected to be a purely standalone narrative.

The hardware leap allows developers to render dense, expansive environments featuring complex point-of-interest mapping. Instead of generating isolated linear hubs, the studio can now support a seamless world built entirely in-house.

A Factual Look at Media Molecule’s Next Steps

Media Molecule is charting a drastically different course for its next major release. Internal documentation points toward a highly structured adventure rather than another platform-creation suite.

While official announcements remain pending, the portfolio leaks paint a clear picture of the current development trajectory. Players can expect a polished, developer-crafted world built heavily around exploration and resource gathering.

Daniel Burrows "Windfell_"

Fueled by a passion for gaming and the ever-evolving world of gaming news, Daniel loves connecting with seasoned and new players to bring games to life on the page, exploring their narratives and gaming trends. A self-published fiction and fantasy author, Daniel has nearly 20 years of experience writing gaming news and a love for storytelling that drives his enthusiasm to deliver breaking news, in-depth analysis, and industry innovations. You will find him in-game as "Windfell."

Media Molecule Leaves LittleBigPlanet Behind for a PS5 Open World

2 months ago

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