The circular bird was the symbol of British studio Psygnosis throughout the company’s life in the 1990s - until it was consolidated into Sony and rebranded SCE Studio Liverpool. Now, the legendary logo lives on in memory - and was recently renewed as a trademark by Sony itself. The trademark itself is not new - the same filing has existed since 1998, and was last renewed back in 2012. This latest renewal (spotted by analyst Roberto Serrano - thanks, ResetEra) has some raised eyebrows, however, as it comes relatively soon after Sony’s September purchase of UK developer Firesprite - home to various former Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool staff. In the years after Psygnosis’ successful run of games under its original name (Lemmings! Wipeout! Colony Wars!), the rebranded studio focused exclusively on Wipeout and F1 sequels as Studio Liverpool - until PlayStation eventually shuttered the company in 2012. Many former employees reformed as Firesprite the same year - and were then immediately tasked by PlayStation as working on various VR and mobile projects such as The Playroom, Run Sackboy Run!, and most recently, Horizon Call of the Mountain. Is Firesprite about to be renamed back to Psygnosis? It seems unlikely. Is this a sign Sony is planning to suddenly re-release the company’s back catalogue in some fashion? There’s no sign of that, either. For now, then, it’s just a reminder of that legendary logo - which after all these years is still in Sony’s claws.
