After 17 years, Sony closes SOCOM studio Zipper Interactive — with a tweet

The studio that created the SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALS video games has shut down after 17 years. In a tweet, Zipper Interactive, a Redmond, Wash.-based console game studio owned by Sony, announced that it had shut down.

“After 17 years it’s time to head off into the sunset. A sincere thank you to all of our fans for everything you’ve done for us. Farewell.” Zipper had about 80 employees.

The rumors of the closing started circulating last week. At the time, reports said that the studio had a project canceled and was undergoing layoffs. Sony said a statement that it did not comment on rumors. Zipper’s last official game, Unit 13, debuted on the PlayStation Vita earlier this month. The company had some bad luck with its last SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALS game, which debuted in April, 2011. That happened just as Sony shut down the PlayStation Network after a hacker attack.

That crippled the SOCOM game’s multiplayer play. Zipper also made MAG, a huge action online game for the PlayStation 3.