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Oxford-based studio Rebellion has reengineered its internal game technology, known as the Asura Engine, to “fully support” Sony’s upcoming successor to the PSP.
The studio has told Develop it will not license the tech to other companies, and suggested the tech overhaul is in preparation for a new series of internally-built handheld projects.
Previous editions of Asura had been used for development of various high-profile games, including The Simpsons Game for Electronic Arts, Aliens vs Predator, Sniper Elite and Rogue Trooper. For the original PSP in particular, the engine was used to develop the handheld title Stars Wars Battlefront.
The tech is now demonstrable on PSP2, Rebellion said, with a fully playable demo of a mystery multiplayer third person shooter.
Rebellion has rushed to update its engine as part of a strategy to win new work-for-hire projects from various publishers interested in releasing a PSP2 title early.
“The technology, design and art teams have worked incredibly well with Sony’s newest device,” said studio co-founder Jason Kingsley.
“We have managed to make our engine fully functional, and looking great on the hardware in double quick time. We’ll be attending DICE and GDC to show what we have created and look for business partners.”
The new Sony handheld, dubbed Next Generation Portable (NGP), will be released worldwide later in the year, pending any delays.
