After 17 years at Media Molecule, studio co-founder Mark Healey is leaving the company following the shutdown of live support for the game he directed—Dreams.
Mark Healey made this game-changing announcement via a lengthy Twitter post, in which he stated that “after 17 incredible years of co-birthing and building Media Molecule, I have decided it is time for me to fly the nest – set sail and chart a new course.” While this change may come as a shock, Mark Healey was the director of Dreams, the vibrant game creation tool, which just lost its live support services.
It was never stated that the closure of some of Dreams‘ support options, as well as the migration to a new server which limits game creations to 5GB and the cancellation of the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR 2 ports, was the reason for Healey’s departure, but it’s safe to say he’s ready to take on new projects after also being the creative director behind the first two LittleBigPlanet games.
“So here’s to new beginnings, following one’s heart and exploring the unknown – yo ho ho and a bottle of rum – I’m off on a Pirate adventure! One that involves making games, that is,” continued Healey on the Twitter post. While there is no indication yet whether or not Healey has a destination in mind, some in the community believe the long-time game development veteran might be hinting at his future home with the pirate reference. Perhaps Rare’s Sea of Thieves or Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones? Only time will tell.
One thing is for sure, Mark Healey has been around for quite some time and should have no problem finding a new base of operations. Prior to co-founding Media Molecule in 2006, he worked at the now-defunct Bullfrog and Lionhead under Peter Molyneux, working on games such as Black & White and Fable.
Healey appears excited for the fresh start after Media Molecule, however, as he states: “A strong cosmic breeze is pulling me, and my pirate heart is awakened, I’m not getting any younger so am going to indulge myself in the winds of my various curiosities for a while and see where they take me…”
