Bluepoint Games is an American Video Game developer located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2006, Bluepoint was started by former members of Retro Studios, and since then, have become very well-known for producing Polished Ports and remakes. They are also known as One of Us, with many of their projects getting selected mainly by their love for those games. Since 2021, they are owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Bluepoint Games' first game project, and to date their only original title, was a simple but visually impressive shooter called Blast Factor, which is notable for being one of the only two downloadable titles on the PlayStation 3 back when the console launched in 2006. It got generally mixed reviews, but it also marked Bluepoint's budding relationship with Sony.
Since then Bluepoint began to undertake remasters and ports over original projects. Their first contract in this new avenue was once again with Sony, and they helped remastering God of War and God of War II to the PS3. This was followed by The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, which granted them their first taste of critical acclaim for their masterful handling over two beloved classics. Pleased with their output, Sony would also hire them to work on a Play Station Vita port for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, its short-lived Mascot Fighter. Another release was a PlayStation 4 & Vita remaster for Flower.
Outside of Sony, Bluepoint Games is also known for handling the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for Konami, and porting Respawn Entertainment's Titanfall, a PC and Xbox One game, to the aging Xbox 360. Both releases were very well-received, particularly their 360 Titanfall release for its exceptional quality. Bluepoint Games would later return to work with Sony on two additional remasters, including Gravity Rush and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection for the PS4, both released in 2015. Both would be the company's last remasters as they began to shift towards more ambitious projects.
In 2017, it was revealed that Bluepoint Games would be handling a remake of Shadow of the Colossus, which the studio previously remastered for the PS3; Shadow of the Colossus was Bluepoint's first attempt at a remake, and was met with universal acclaim upon its release in 2018. This would follow with a remake for FromSoftware's Demon's Souls, which attained even greater acclaim.
Often worked with SIE Japan Studio until the latter's reorganization in 2021. Compare with Grezzo, which is practically Bluepoint's counterpart for Nintendo.
Ports developed by the company:
- Demon's Souls (PlayStation 5)
- Gravity Rush Remastered (PlayStation 4)
- Flower (PS4, Play Station Vita)
- God of War Collection (Ultimate Combo Pack, PlayStation 3)
- God of War HD
- God of War II HD
- The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3)
- Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PS3, Xbox 360; Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater only, as Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was instead ported by Genki)
- PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (Vita)
- Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (PS4)
- Titanfall (360)
Tropes that apply to Bluepoint Games and its games:
- Animation Bump: As a studio specializing in remastering and remaking older games, Bluepoint Games became known for considerably boosting the production values of the original titles; this is done using their in-house engine, known simply as the Bluepoint Engine. Taken up to eleven with their remakes of Shadow of the Colossus and especially Demon's Souls.
- Died During Production: Andrew O'Neil, Bluepoint's co-founder, died in 2019 in the middle of the studio's production on Demon's Souls.
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Polished Port: How they got their acclaim in the first place. Specifically, their work on The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection was widely acclaimed for their level of quality, while their Titanfall port to the Xbox 360 was signaled out for its impressive ability to downscale the game despite being built for the Xbox One. - Video Game Remake: Beginning 2017, Bluepoint Games transitioned from mere remasters and ports to full-blown remakes. Notably, their remake technique includes tearing the original game down to its code and rebuilding it with new assets, textures and quality of life changes.
