Sony CEO Jim Ryan does not rule out expanding the portfolio of internal teams at PlayStation Studios, currently at 14 after Insomniac Games.
Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, has been open to acquiring more development studios for PlayStation Studios in the future. Surprised by the reserves of PS5, which equaled the PS4 in twelve hours in twelve weeks, he is aware of the need to continue to increase the number of teams that only work for the PlayStation ecosystem.
The purchase of Insomniac Games in 2019 brought to 14 the number of internal Sony studios, recently renamed PlayStation Studios, and thus joined the Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, Polyphony Digital or MediaMolecule, among many others; but it may not be enough, especially given the giant move made by Microsoft, which this September undertook the purchase of ZeniMax Media to join the Bethesda studio conglomerate to Xbox Game Studios. From 15 development teams to a total of 23 within the Xbox ecosystem.
Marvel’s Spider-Man, one of the biggest PlayStation hits this generation with more than 13 million units sold.
Sony has already declared that it is open to the purchase of more studios in 2019
Sony will continue to enrich SIE Worldwide Studios organically “where we can strengthen our internal capacity with selective mergers and acquisitions that may be possible,” he says in Reuters. It is not necessary to go very far to sustain that argument. In August they said they will continue to “invest in and acquire studios with abundant creativity and cutting edge technologies that help Sony Worldwide Studios grow.”
Last October 2019, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said in a meeting with shareholders that they were open to further expanding the range of internal studios following the purchase of Insomniac Games. Even before, in July 2019, Ryan recognized that “content is becoming more important than ever” and, therefore, they were considering the purchase of other companies to reinforce their brand. The first big move turned out to be the Californian studio responsible for Marvel’s Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank.
The future will tell. The present, for its part, brings us closer to the launch of PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition this November 12 (November 19 in Europe) at a recommended price of 499 euros and 399 euros, respectively.
