Yes, but there’s the usual caveat: something still stopped Sony from fully abandoning its Western market flop of a handheld.

Two beloved PlayStation Vita games were in active development for sequels before their budgets were shifted toward PlayStation 4 projects. This comes from Shuhei Yoshida, the former head of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, who later led Sony’s indie initiatives before leaving the company after over 30 years of service.

Speaking this week, Yoshida revealed that both sequels were scrapped when Sony pivoted its focus to the PlayStation 4, turning away from the Vita—a cult favorite that still retained a fanbase in Japan. In an interview with Sacred Symbols+, he confirmed that both Soul Sacrifice 2 and Freedom Wars 2 were in the works but ultimately canceled due to budget limitations, prompting a shift toward PS4 development. He also explained that this transition was the main reason so many Sony first-party IPs never made it to the Vita. Exceptions like Uncharted: Golden Abyss from Sony Bend (the studio behind Days Gone) proved it was possible.

Developed by Dimps and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, Freedom Wars was a modest Western success but achieved major popularity in Japan, boasting the second-best launch numbers of any Vita title. “In the distant future, humanity struggles to survive. Pollution has devastated the planet, and the remnants of humanity are divided among city-sized prisons called Panopticons. Resources are so scarce that living itself is a crime, and those born are immediately given a million years of prison time,” reads the official game description. A remastered edition dropped this January.

Marvelous co-developed Soul Sacrifice with the now-defunct PlayStation Japan Studio. The game was designed by Capcom legend Keiji Inafune and released in 2013, followed by an expanded edition titled Soul Sacrifice Delta a year later.

Source: VGC, Patreon