Media Molecule co-founder Mark Healey leaves Dreams studio after 17 years
"... my pirate heart is awakened."
Media Molecule co-founder Mark Healey has left the studio after 17 years.
Healey co-founded Media Molecule in 2006 in Guildford alongside Kareem Ettouney, Alex Evans and David Smith, after working at Fable developer Lionhead (and creating Rag Doll Kung Fu, the first non-Valve game on Steam). Media Molecule's first game was 2008 PlayStation 3 user-generated content platformer LittleBigPlanet, which did well enough that Sony bought the company two years later in 2010.
Healey went on to work on 2011's LittleBigPlanet 2, 2013's Tearaway and, most recently, PlayStation 4 game Dreams.
The announcement of Healey's exit comes hot on the heels of news Media Molecule is set to discontinue live support for Dreams after 1st September 2023.
The "difficult decision" was made as Media Molecule shifts focus to "an exciting new project".
In a statement published on Twitter, Media Molecule studio director Siobhan Reddy said "the recent changing shape of the team is undeniably a moment", but insisted the team is "ready to take up the baton".
The new project, Reddy said, is "exciting" but too early to talk about. "We look forward to updating you in the future," Reddy said.
"From LittleBigPlanet to Dreams and beyond - proud to have played my part and lucky to have jammed with some truly brilliant people - and such a wonderfully talented community which I will continue to be a fan of," Healey said on Twitter.
"But 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...
"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)."