Sony has confirmed that Studio Liverpool, the development house previously known as Pysgnosis, is to close.Founded in 1984 by Ian Hetherington and David Lawson, Pysgnosis is best known for work on the 1987 eight-bit classic Barbarian, 1989 parallax-scrolling platformer Shadow of the Beast and as the publisher for DMA Design's Lemmings in 1991. Following its acquisition by Sony in 1993 for use as a PlayStation development house, Psygnosis would go on to make some of the console's best-known hits including gravity-defying racer Wipeout.In 1999, the classic Psygnosis name was dropped and the studio rebranded to Sony Computer Entertainment Studio Liverpool - or just Studio Liverpool for short. As Studio Liverpool, the group would take over the Formula One series of games until Sony's licence for the franchise expired in 2007, as well as numerous successful Wipeout sequels.In later years, however, Studio Liverpool has hit troubled times. In 2010, Sony announced that the group would be forced to close down certain projects to focus on more profitable ventures. '' the company announced in January 2010. '' As a result of the restructuring, Studio Liverpool halved its head-count.Two and a bit years later, things have finally reached a head: rumours are circulating that Sony has closed Studio Liverpool altogether, telling the group's employees that an impending reorganisation has left them surplus to requirements.Sources close to events and posting on the GRcade site have claimed that Michael Denny, senior vice president of Sony Worldwide Studios Europe, gathered the Studio Liverpool staff together this morning to announce the studio's closure, ending the group's 28-year run in the computer game industry.Sony, for its part, has not commented on the reasons for the Studio Liverpool closure. Contacting the company via telephone, we were told that nobody from the press office was available, and we are waiting on a statement via email - with which we will update the story accordingly.Sony has given us a formal statement confirming the closure. '