Don’t lose sleep over it — Media Molecule says ‘Dreams’ still in development

By Garrett Hulfish Published November 1, 2017

Media Molecule's Dreams — Image used with permission by copyright holder

When Sony first revealed Dreams during its E3 2015 Press Conference, it was like nothing that came before. Its painterly style was surreal, making each world a literal canvas for players to create their own. But after missing this year’s E3 and Sony’s Paris Games Week presentation, many are wondering if the game had been quietly canceled. Despite its absence, developer Media Molecule says that Dreams is very much alive.

According to the studio’s Halloween-themed Twitter account, Dreams might be coming sooner than people expect. “Congrats to all the WWS [Worldwide Studios] teams showing at PGW [Paris Games Week],” reads the post. “Those amazing trailers are getting us extra excited to share news soon.”

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Anticipated fans were quick to reply to the post, asking how much longer they will have to wait. Media Molecule responded to each fan, stating “this year” again and again.

Backing up their claims was Sony’s senior vice president of Worldwide Studios, Michael Denny. “It is still in development and it is still very, very exciting,” Denny said in a statement to VG247. “It’s going to be massive, it’s incredible, we’ve shown lots of it before. When we come back with it again — that will be fairly soon, without putting any dates on it — it’s going to blow people away.”

Media Molecule’s last game was Tearaway: Unfolded for the PS4. Just as whimsical as when it first appeared on the PlayStation Vita, Tearaway takes players into a papercraft wonderland. Both versions of the game take full advantage of the platform. On Vita, players push their finger through the back touchscreen, take pictures, and cut out shapes to stick to their character. The PS4 offers a companion app for cutting out shapes, but also uses the controller to light up dark areas.

With Dreams, the studio fully embraces the creative side of their past games. Everything from the ground to the characters can be created and animated from scratch. Such a robust creative system can be overwhelming to new players, so it’s no wonder that they are taking their time. If the developers really expect to share more before the end of the year, then Sony’s PlayStation Experience 2017 would be the next likely place.

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Garrett Hulfish

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Garrett is the kind of guy who tells you about all the tech you haven't heard of yet. He also knows too much about other…

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It makes basic financial sense for Nintendo to ask for a little bit more for a game it knows will be one of the biggest releases of 2023. But what factors in the game industry and world's economy at large caused Nintendo to make this decision?
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