Studio acquisitions have basically reignited the console wars, with big names being scooped up by Sony and Microsoft. PlayStation Studios recently acquired God of War co-developer Valkyrie Entertainment, VR-focused Firesprite, and more. One of the largest deals is a $3.6 billion move to acquire Bungie, but Sony isn’t stopping there.
Business analyst Roberto Serrano spotted a telltale listing at PlayStation Global. Sony Interactive Entertainment is looking to hire a director of corporate development. This person will be “responsible for identifying inorganic growth opportunities through acquisitions, investments, or joint ventures.” The term “inorganic” can carry a negative connotation, but in this case, it simply refers to growing Sony through outside companies rather than from within. Acquisitions are certainly a big part of that: Demon’s Souls remake studio Bluepoint Games and Returnal developer Housemarque made critically acclaimed PlayStation 5 games and are now under the Sony banner. “Investments” refer to seeding other studios with money, and “joint ventures” are partnerships with other companies. The new director will be in charge of all of those, so expect more studio buyouts in the future.
Sony is far from the only company taking this approach, of course. Famously, Xbox is set to acquire Activision Blizzard in a landmark deal of nearly $70 billion. Chinese giant Tencent has scooped up the likes of Back 4 Blood developer Turtle Rock Studios and many more developers. Even former PlayStation boss Jack Tretton wants to acquire game studios.
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