Media Molecule

Media Molecule at a Glance

Media Molecule is a British developer founded in Guildford in 2006 by former Lionhead Studios employees Mark Healey, Alex Evans, David Smith and Kareem Ettouney. The studio began making games in 2008 and stopped releasing new titles in 2020. Their output was almost exclusively for Sony platforms, with six games on PlayStation 3, three on PlayStation 4, one on PlayStation Vita, one on PlayStation 5, and one on PlayStation VR. They did not publish any games themselves but developed all ten titles found on PlayPile. The company shows a clear focus on platformers, having made nine games in that genre, followed by eight adventures and four puzzles. Their quality record is exceptionally high across their career. They have eight great titles rated 80 or above and only one mixed title rated between 40 and 59. There are no poor or mediocre entries in their catalog. The highest rated game is LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition from 2009, which holds a score of 95 out of 100. LittleBigPlanet 2: Special Edition follows closely with a 94 rating. Dreams, released in February 2020, also achieved a strong score of 91.2. The team did not release any games in the 2000s beyond two titles, but their output grew significantly in the 2010s with seven releases. Only one game appeared in the 2020s before the studio went quiet. Media Molecule was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment on March 2, 2010, which coincides with the period of their most prolific release schedule. Their games often blend creative tools with standard gameplay, as seen in Tearaway and its sequel Tearaway: Unfolded, both of which received solid scores in the low 80s or high 80s. The studio maintained a consistent level of excellence from their first game through to Dreams, showing little fluctuation in quality over time. Players looking at PlayPile will find a developer with a very small but highly respected library that rarely misses its mark.

Release Timeline

Rating Distribution