What happened to Sony’s Sackboy? From being one of the most beloved Sony mascots to now becoming a forgotten character, left to gather dust on a shelf somewhere in Media Molecule's basement.
Sackboy was cherished by many during the golden age of modern PlayStation titles. After Uncharted’s success in 2007, Media Molecule was already hard at work creating the next system seller, and the result was LittleBigPlanet.
It was a fantastic game that drew in players, young and old, into Media Molecule’s vibrant 2D platforming world. It introduced Sackboy, an anthropomorphic protagonist made of burlap, with a zipper as his signature tie. Players loved how intuitive the platforming mechanics felt, especially with its attention to detail in physics-based gameplay. But what truly made LittleBigPlanet special was how it encouraged the community to come together to create and share custom levels. It was essentially Sony’s answer to Roblox before Roblox even took off.
The last true LittleBigPlanet game we saw was LittleBigPlanet 2, which was released back in 2011 during the PlayStation 3’s peak. (LittleBigPlanet 3's impact doesn't count as Media Molecule lent the project to Sumo Digital, and it received lukewarm reviews due to its short campaign.)
Now, with the PlayStation 5 nearly five years into its life, we still haven’t seen Sackboy return in a meaningful way. And no, Sackboy: A Big Adventure doesn’t really count.
Instead of continuing the LittleBigPlanet series with a fourth installment, Sony pivoted toward a 3D platformer starring Sackboy, but stripped away the essential charm that made the franchise beloved. That meant removing the community-made levels and the 2.5D platforming roots. What we got instead was a collectathon adventure that tried to emulate Super Mario Odyssey but couldn’t quite capture the same magic or polish Nintendo had.
While many players did enjoy Sackboy: A Big Adventure, it wasn’t the kind of game LittleBigPlanet fans were hoping for. It had Sackboy, sure, but it never truly felt like his game. It tried something new, but in doing so, left behind the very community that made the original games thrive. And after that, we’ve heard little to nothing about Sackboy’s future.
Media Molecule has since shifted focus to their next big project, although details remain scarce. For the past few years, they poured their energy into Dreams, their ambitious sandbox platform where players could create and share their own games and experiences. Unfortunately, it didn’t prove to be profitable, and support for Dreams officially ended two years ago.
Players also noticed how Sackboy is no longer seen in PlayStation's iconic intro, which left fans worried about his fate.
It’s sad to see how a once-iconic Sony mascot has faded into obscurity. And now that Astro Bot has taken the spotlight, which was bringing in record-breaking numbers and Game of the Year nominations for Team Asobi, the chances of seeing Sackboy revived are slimmer than ever.
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