LittleBigPlanet Vita studio now a PlayStation exclusive developer

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita developer Double Eleven has signed a PlayStation exclusive development deal with Sony.

Formed by former Rockstar Leeds lead engineers in 2010, the UK studio was recently revealed as the architect behind the technology driving LittleBigPlanet on Vita.

Under the terms of the deal, Double Eleven will work on LittleBigPlanet as well as new titles for Sony platforms.

SCE Worldwide Studios Europe senior vice president Michael Denny said: "Double Eleven are one of the most exciting developers to emerge onto the development scene in recent years, their technical expertise makes them a great fit for LittleBigPlanet on PS Vita and we've very pleased with the progress the team have made on this hugely anticipated title.

"For us to become strong partners with Sony at such a crucial stage in our own development underlines the unswerving commitment we have made to the quality of our production," said Double Eleven CEO Lee Hutchinson. "We look forward to a truly exciting new phase in our own development, with the absolute intention to become a world-class studio."

Media Molecule “stepping away” from LittleBigPlanet

Media Molecule has revealed that they are taking time off from LittleBigPlanet. For now at least.

"We’re stepping away from Little Big Planet to focus on some new ideas.” says Siobhan Reddy, Studio Director for Media Molecule, in the recent Gamelab 2011 event in Barcelona, Spain.

The unique puzzle platformer franchise has already seen life outside of Media Molecule, with Sony's Cambridge Studio handling the development of PlayStation Portable version of the game and both Double11 and Tarsier Studios currently developing the upcoming PSP Vita title.

With the amount of talent on their stable, only time will tell on exactly what those “new ideas” may be, but it's definitely sounds pretty exciting to me. I think it's a good move to step back from franchise for a while and venture to other fields. Milking the franchise by releasing new games with only a few improvements each year is what's ruining the industry right now and will only destroy the series in the long run.

Developer Double 11 behind the development of LittleBigPlanet Vita

Double11 is a relative newcomer to the development industry, though the experience of its staff is second to none. Formed in 2010 by ex-Rockstar engineers Lee Hutchinson and Matt Shepcar, the company has announced that it is working on the PlayStation Vita version of LittleBigPlanet.

"It's a fantastic achievement and a privilege for the studio to be working on a project such as LittleBigPlanet, particularly for such an exciting new platform," said Lee Hutchinson, CEO. "We've spent the best part of a year recruiting a crack squad of games development professionals and we're delighted that we can finally announce it."

Double11 is being assisted on the project by Tarsier Studios from Sweden, who also helped out with both of the PS3 iterations of the franchise.