Sony’s games business is targeting new investment to bolster momentum in PCs and mobile devices, a senior executive at the group said, as the PlayStation 5 maker competes for talent with well-heeled rivals and amid a surge in transactions in the industry.
“More investment in areas that will strengthen expansion to PC, mobile and live services, this is definitely a possibility for us,” Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, said in an interview with Reuters, without providing further details.
Sony, whose studios are known for single player console games like “Spider-Man” and “God of War”, have outlined ambitious plans to release titles for PC and mobile devices and offer service games to the vivo (‘live service games’), which provide continuous updates.
The sea change is reflected in its recent market moves, including its acquisition of Bungie, the studio behind the “Destiny” multiplayer franchise, for $3.6 billion. Sony operates the studio outside of its PlayStation Studios network.
Other investments include buying a minority stake in Japanese developer FromSoftware, whose action RPG game “Elden Ring” has sold more than 16.6 million units.
Sony is also producing a growing number of game adaptations, such as the movie “Uncharted” this year, which grossed more than $400 million worldwide, and a TV series based on the franchise.” The Last of Us” from his studio Naughty Dog, which will be released on HBO next year.
DIFFERENTIAL ASPECT
Given the scope of the transformation envisaged by Sony’s games business, analysts expect more acquisitions from the group.
“I think they’re still going to add studios,” said Serkan Toto, founder of consultancy Kantan Games.
The strength of PlayStation’s studio network has drawn praise as a key differentiator from Xbox maker Microsoft, which is seeking to buy Activision Blizzard in a $69 billion deal.
Sony’s head of games, Jim Ryan, even raised objections to the operation given the potential impact of the mega-deal on PlayStation users.
“If Sony can replicate what it has done with single player experiences, but [com] cross-platform multiplayer experiences on PC, consoles and maybe even mobile” will be impossible to predict the outcome, Kantan Games’ Toto said, pointing to the success of online games like Epic Games’ Fortnite.
Sony’s push for other platforms comes as the group struggles to produce enough PlayStation 5 units due to supply chain issues.
Sony’s in-house studios are also developing titles for the next generation of PlayStation VR2 VR headsets, which are expected to launch early next year.
While “Horizon Forbidden West”, released in February, is “an open world and that’s not necessarily very suitable for a PSVR2 game”, Sony is designing “bespoke” titles for the system, such as “Horizon Call of the Mountain”. , said Hulst.
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