Jaffe Wants Out?

Multiple sources have reported that David Jaffe, the outspoken creative director for Sony's Santa Monica Studios, is leaving the company in order to form an independent video game development studio. According to a recent piece by 1UP, Jaffe may be forming this studio with help from Scott Campbell, the head of Incognito Entertainment. This new company will be based out of Utah, which means Jaffe might have to leave his current Southern California digs.

Jaffe, perhaps best known as the primary force behind the God of War franchise, has worked with Incognito previously on Twisted Metal: Black and his most recent game, Calling All Cars. The typically brash Jaffe had been hinting at such a move on his blog, where he recently posted pictures of an abandoned warehouse space.

SCEA has so far remained reticent regarding these recent developments. The company said in a recent statement, "We have made no announcements regarding any change in David Jaffe's relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment". Jaffe himself has also been unavailable for comment about the departure or his future plans.

[UPDATE: Since the story broke, Jaffe has made an effort to respond to the allegations via the NeoGAF forums. "I can promise you guys I am still part of SCEA...I just got a paycheck from them!" he writes. "I am still 100% a Sony employee and unless I got fired today and they didn't tell me, I'm still working for them. Also, I love working with the guys at Incog and hope to work with them for a long, long time but I sure as **** ain't moving to Utah...nice as it is, I don't think I could live there long term and I don't think the good people of Utah would want me to."]

[From GamePro]