Firesprite Vacates 50,000 sq ft Liverpool Office After Four Years 2026

Key Points

• Firesprite, the games studio that operates under the Sony brand name, will vacate its 50,000 sq. ft. Liverpool office in Duke & Parr at CERT.
• The departure is happening less than four years into its 11.5-year lease signed in October 2022.
• The firm is actively seeking to sub-lease all the available space, which is currently being handled by Worthington Owen.
• Employees that need to work from Liverpool will do so from the current Liverpool space owned by Sony at Old Hall Street.
• This follows a workspace requirements study that was conducted after Sony’s global staff reduction announcement in 2024 of 8%.
• The original Liverpool deal was the largest office deal for the city in many years.

Liverpool (Liverpool standard) September 03, 2026 – Firesprite is set to exit its 50,000 sq ft headquarters at CERT’s Duke & Parr development in Liverpool, less than four years after committing to an 11.5-year lease, with the Sony-owned studio now looking to sub-let the entire space as it consolidates operations following corporate restructuring.

What is happening with Firesprite’s Liverpool office?

Firesprite, the Liverpool-based video game developer owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment, is vacating its 50,000 sq ft office at the Duke & Parr development on Duke Street. The space is returning to the commercial property market after the company conducted an internal analysis of its workspace requirements. According to reporting by Dan Whelan of Place North West, the firm is seeking to sub-let the entire building through commercial property agent Worthington Owen.

The decision marks a significant reversal from October 2022, when Firesprite signed what was then Liverpool’s largest office lease in several years. That agreement covered 50,000 sq ft across the refurbished former Bibby Line headquarters, which CERT had transformed into the Duke & Parr business centre.

Why is Firesprite leaving Duke & Parr?

The departure follows Sony’s 2024 announcement that it would reduce its global workforce by 8%, a restructuring that affected Firesprite staff in both Liverpool and London. As reported by Place North West, employees who require a Liverpool base will be accommodated within Sony’s existing office space on Old Hall Street in the city centre.

The workspace consolidation comes amid broader changes within PlayStation Studios. Firesprite was acquired by Sony in September 2021, becoming a first-party developer under the PlayStation Studios umbrella. Since the acquisition, the studio has been working on major titles including the upcoming Until Dawn 2, scheduled for release in 2027.

What was the original lease agreement?

In October 2022, Firesprite committed to an 11.5-year lease at Duke & Parr, a deal that represented one of Liverpool’s most significant office transactions in recent years. The property had undergone comprehensive refurbishment by CERT, supported by £5m in funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The building, formerly the Bibby Line headquarters, was rebranded as Duke & Parr following CERT’s renovation work. In 2023, CERT attempted to sell the asset, seeking offers of £9.9m, but withdrew the property from the market shortly after.

Who is marketing the vacated space?

Commercial property consultancy Worthington Owen has been appointed to market the 50,000 sq ft space. The agency is handling the sub-letting process as Firesprite prepares to vacate the premises. Place North West contacted Firesprite for comment on the development, though no additional statement was provided beyond the information already in circulation.

The return of such a substantial office space to Liverpool’s commercial market comes at a time when the city continues to attract technology and creative sector businesses. Recent lettings in the region include Aslan Labs Group taking 6,200 sq ft at the Hythe building in Wirral, citing limited office availability in Liverpool city centre.

How does this affect Liverpool’s games sector?

Firesprite has been a significant employer in Liverpool’s growing games development cluster since its founding. The studio employed 146 staff as of 2025, according to available records. The company has been part of a wave of Liverpool-based studios attracting international acquirers, following similar paths to Bizarre Creations (acquired by Activision in 2007) and Lucid Games (acquired by Tencent’s LightSpeed Studios in 2023).

The studio’s work on Until Dawn 2 represents a high-profile project for the city’s creative industries. Supermassive Games, the original creator of Until Dawn, is not involved in developing the sequel, with Firesprite taking full responsibility for the 2027 release.

Background of the Development

The Duke & Parr development occupies the former Bibby Line headquarters on Duke Street in Liverpool. CERT undertook a comprehensive refurbishment of the building, creating a modern business centre that attracted Firesprite as its anchor tenant in 2022. The renovation project received £5m in support from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, reflecting the regional development agency’s commitment to strengthening the city’s office stock for technology and creative businesses.

Firesprite itself was founded in Liverpool and has maintained its headquarters in the city throughout its growth. Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired the studio in September 2021, integrating it into PlayStation Studios as a first-party developer. The acquisition positioned Firesprite to work on major PlayStation franchises, with the studio now developing Until Dawn 2 among other projects.

The 2022 lease agreement represented a significant commitment to Liverpool’s city centre office market, with the 50,000 sq ft space being the largest transaction of its kind in several years at the time. CERT had sought to sell the Duke & Parr asset in 2023, marketing it at £9.9m, but removed it from sale shortly after.

Prediction: Impact on Liverpool’s Commercial Property Market

This development is likely to affect Liverpool’s commercial property sector, particularly the office market serving technology and creative industries. The return of 50,000 sq ft to the sub-let market within four years of a major lease signing may prompt scrutiny of long-term occupancy commitments in the post-pandemic era, where hybrid working and corporate restructuring have altered space requirements.

For Liverpool’s games development cluster, the consolidation of Firesprite staff into Sony’s Old Hall Street premises may reduce the visible footprint of one of the city’s largest gaming employers, though the studio’s operational presence in Liverpool will continue. The availability of a substantial, recently refurbished office space at Duke & Parr could present an opportunity for another technology or creative sector business to establish a significant Liverpool base, potentially maintaining the building’s role as a hub for innovative industries.

The situation may also influence how regional development agencies and property owners structure support for major office transactions, with greater emphasis on flexibility clauses and adaptation to changing workforce patterns. For commercial agents like Worthington Owen, marketing a 50,000 sq ft space in Liverpool’s city centre will test demand from businesses seeking substantial headquarters accommodation in the North West.