Sony’s taking a look at outside development studios in an effort to bolster its lineup of first-party titles.
When the PlayStation 5 gets released in 2020 or 2021, the Japanese company wants to be prepared with intellectual properties new and old. It already relies on franchises like Uncharted, Gran Turismo, The Last of Us, God of War, and a few others. Yet there’s no doubt that Sony Interactive Entertainment would benefit from the addition of entirely new games that turn into long-term hits.
In an interview with Nikkei, SIE chief Jim Ryan made it clear that “content is more important than ever before” and acquisitions are on the table. He didn’t name any particular studios of interest, but they’re out there waiting to get scooped up and elevated by Sony’s resources.
“Companies new to the games industry looking at the market with hope is something we definitely welcome. Sony Interactive Entertainment has 25 years of experience in the games industry and has big assets.”
Its largest competitor, Microsoft, has gone on a shopping spree lately. Xbox Game Studios added Compulsion Games, Obsidian Entertainment, and Undead Labs in the last year. Last month, Double Fine joined the portfolio to roll out exclusive games on current and future Xbox models.
We’ll see how Sony ultimately decides to approach first-party titles on its next-generation console. It already owns a healthy number of studios, but you can never have too much content to promote as exclusive to your own platform.
