Sony continues to buy. This time, the PlayStation Studios will incorporate the developer Firesprite, who most recently contributed to the VR title The Playroom for the PlayStation 4. Here too, cooperation is followed by purchase.
However, the future owner is not entirely new to every employee. Firesprite emerged in part from Sony's Liverpool studio, which was closed in 2012 and which was previously responsible for the racing game WipeOut as Psygnosis.
Reasons for buying
Sony does not hold back with the reason for the purchase. Firesprite is described as a “creative and ambitious studio”. Hermen Hulst, the head of PlayStation Studios, became clearer in an interview with Games Industry: He emphasized the “very experimental” approach of the newcomer in combination with “entrepreneurial spirit” in game development. That promises unusual, but also commercially successful games. In addition, Sony is not taking over a small studio. Firesprite currently has around 250 employees.
In the future, however, you will not remain in the role of legwork. The new addition is intended to promote its own projects. Most recently, work was done on a “great multiplayer shooter” and a “dark, narrative blockbuster adventure”. Hulst did not want to comment on current projects, but mentioned that these would move outside of the genres in Sony's primary range of games. VR games don't have to be, says Hulst.
Quality comes first
The aim of the takeover is not just that To further diversify the range of games for the PlayStation, but to potentially turn Firesprite into a high-quality studio, an ambition shared by the newcomers. In this context, Hulst again emphasized that Sony is not buying in order to gain mass, but is proceeding in a “highly selective manner”. In addition to a good relationship, shared values, such as a willingness to innovate, are important. The rows of own studios have grown considerably: after Housemarque in June and the porting specialist Nixxes in July, this is the third takeover this year.