PlayStation’s boss says more studio acquisitions ‘might be possible’

Sony Interactive Entertainment could be open to acquiring more development studios, according to CEO Jim Ryan.

Following the acquisition of Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games last year, Sony has 14 first-party development studios.

In an interview with Reuters, Ryan said the company will continue to grow SIE Worldwide Studios organically, adding that “where we can bolster our in-house capability with selective M&A that might be possible.”

Ryan’s comments come a month after Microsoft announced that it intends to acquire ZeniMax Media and its game publisher Bethesda Softworks for $7.5 billion, in a deal that will strengthen its rival Xbox division.

In a corporate report published in August, Sony signalled it is open to purchasing more games companies to bolster its Worldwide Studios association.

The company also emphasised the importance of first-party titles for the future growth of the PlayStation business and said it planned to accelerate the release of its exclusive games.

In July it was claimed that Sony was weighing up a bid for Leyou Technologies, the owner of Warframe studio Digital Extremes and Gears Tactics developer Splash Damage, although Tencent subsequently entered exclusive talks to acquire the company.

Sony is gearing up to launch PS5 on November 12 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, and on November 19 in the rest of the world.

Ryan also told Reuters the company has seen “very considerable” pre-order demand for PS5. Sony took as many PS5 pre-orders in the first 12 hours in the US as it did in the first 12 weeks for PS4, he said.

Further reading

Sony expects PlayStation 5 sales to top 7 million by March 2021

PlayStation boss also promises to “excite fans… with the best exclusive games”