Sony says it’s still open to developer buyouts to grow PlayStation Studios

Sony has signalled it’s open to purchasing more games companies to bolster its PlayStation Studios roster.

In the firm’s latest corporate report published on Friday, it emphasised the importance of first-party titles for the future growth of the games business and said it plans to accelerate the release of its exclusive games.

“In addition to improving the personnel and work environment in its own studios, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) continues to invest in, or acquire, firms with abundant creativity and cutting-edge technologies to build up Worldwide Studios (WWS), an association of first-party title production studios,” it said.

“As of May 31, 2020, WWS owns 14 studios and has become one of the world’s leading game-developer networks,” it added. “With hit series like The Last of Us, God of War, and Uncharted, it is a strong engine for content IP production.”

PlayStation’s latest purchase was the acquisition of Spider-Man studio Insomniac Games in August 2019, following a 20 year relationship with the studio.

Following that buyout, a key exec suggested that Sony Interactive Entertainment was open to further acquisitions as it prepared to launch PlayStation 5.

During Sony’s second quarter earnings call in October 2019, senior EVP and CFO Hiroki Totoki implied the company could look to grow PlayStation Worldwide Studios, which consists of 14 development houses across the US, Europe and Japan, with further acquisitions.

“At the investor relations day [in May this year], we mentioned that Sony’s strength lies in our first-party content and IP,” he said.

“With the aim of strengthening these, in August we announced the acquisition of Insomniac Games, the game developer for Marvel’s Spider-Man, which sold 13.2 million units worldwide.

“Through this acquisition, Insomniac Games will become Sony Interactive Entertainment’s 14th studio and will contribute to further enhancement of our first-party software development organisation.

“further

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“Going forward,” Totoki added, “we will continue to pursue growth investment opportunities that will enhance our own content IP.”

The exec’s statements echoed those of Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan, who said prior to the Insomniac acquisition that the company was considering studio purchases in a bid to grow its first-party development capabilities.

“Content is more important than ever before,” Ryan told Nikkei.