The student-made videogame Piecefall, developed for PlayStation®4 is set to be released in the United States on 31 March 2016.
Following the original European release of PieceFall in July 2015, Sheffield Hallam University received the national TIGA Games Industry Award for “Best Educational Institution”. Now, the widespread industry support for the game has led to its transatlantic release on the American PlayStation Network Store on 31 March.
PieceFall is an agile 3D puzzle game set in a world of abstract floating islands. It was developed through Steel Minions, Sheffield Hallam University’s in-house game studio, in partnership with PlayStation ® First, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Academic Game Development Programme.
Dr Jacob Habgood, senior lecturer in software and games development at Sheffield Hallam University, said, “We’re hugely excited that Piecefall is going to be released in the US. This is the first game in the world to be released for the PlayStation 4 made entirely by a team of undergraduate students, so it’s a fantastic achievement for it to be released in America.
“It is testament to the brilliant young team who worked on this game and have now gone on to work in the games industry at pioneering developers such as Sumo Digital in Sheffield and Elite3D in Valencia.”
Dr Maria Stukoff, Head of PlayStation ® First, said: “We worked very closely with the Steel Minions studio to help them bring this game to market and we are pleased that it will now be released in the US.
“In recent years, as indie gaming has exploded, PlayStation ® First has worked hard to narrow the gap between student teams and indie studios. PieceFall is a true testament to our investment.”
Piecefall is the second game to be released through the Steel Minions studio, the first being Bounceback, published for PlayStation Minis in 2012.
PieceFall is available on the PlayStation Network US store priced at just $2.49