Media Molecule, the studio behind the big little star, once considered selling the franchise to Microsoft. An interview with co-founder Mark Haley revealed Microsoft’s interest in big little star. Following the game’s demo at GDC 2007, it was revealed that the developers are looking.
Healy said Sony was impressed by an early presentation, but supported a short development period. He explained that she was able to get six months of financial support. However, there was no formal contract stating that Media Molecule had to continue working with Sony.
Microsoft saw an opportunity after the GDC 2007 presentation. An Xbox representative reached out to Media Molecule in hopes of convincing them to leave Sony. While the exact details of the contract were not discussed, the representative hinted that Microsoft would offer huge financial support if the studio partnered with Xbox.
Mark Healy said in an interview;
“And actually, I do remember after we showed (the Little Big Planet demo) at GDC … somebody from Microsoft was hanging around. And they kind of tried to steal us, if you will, from going out with Sony. And technically, we could have done (it.) We could have been like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s go with Microsoft. They’re probably going to give us a load of money.'”
In contrast, Healy said that leaving Sony after the company’s initial support felt “morally wrong” for developers. Media Molecule valued its relationship with Sony and wanted to continue working with the company.
Healy said he wanted to work with the company that took an early risk on his vision. Sony has not yet officially acquired the rights to the games for PlayStation. But Healy believes there is a legal agreement behind the scenes.
In case you missed it, Sony announced In April that big little star 3 Servers will remain offline. Players will be able to access content stored locally on their devices. They will also be able to create content while disconnected from the servers.