Since 2019, Sony Interactive has purchased 11 studios to bolster its lineup of first-party PlayStation titles. However, Sony’s track record with these purchases is spotty at best. Three of the studios have been shut down completely or will be in the near future, including Bluepoint.
The closure of Bluepoint is emblematic of Sony’s recent choices, which often cut off the studios’ long-term survival chances while chasing short-term success. All three of the studios that have been shuttered–including Bluepoint–were working on live-service games for Sony that were ultimately canceled.
There have been some success stories for Sony, particularly with Insomniac, the studio behind the best-selling Spider-Man games on PS4 and PS5. For some of the others, the jury is still out. Bungie’s fate may depend upon how well players receive Marathon when it hits next month.
The irony of Sony’s current console generation is that it seemingly doesn’t have room for new titles from many of PlayStation’s biggest franchises like Uncharted, Infamous, and Killzone. Instead, Sony has chased live-service games while neglecting the single-player experiences that helped push it to the top.
Now, GameSpot is looking back at all 11 of Sony’s studio purchases since 2019, and what became of them.
Insomniac
Insomniac had a storied history prior to being purchased by Sony in 2019. In its nearly 30-year run, Insomniac produced Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank, and Resistance, all of which spawned franchises.
In 2018, Insomniac and Sony released Marvel’s Spider-Man, one of the best superhero games ever made. Sony purchased the studio soon after, and put it to work on Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Spider-Man 2, and the upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine game.
But even this successful studio hasn’t been immune from Sony’s layoffs.
Housemarque
Finnish developer Housemarque launched in 1995 with titles like Super Stardust, Alien Incident, The Reap, and Supreme Snowboarding. Since 2013, Housemarque has released games that were primarily made for Sony’s consoles.
Based on the success of Housemarque’s Returnal, Sony purchased the studio in 2021. Its next game, Saros, is slated for release on April 30.
Nixxes Software
For most of its three decades of existence, Nixxes Software has either ported games to other platforms or served as a support studio for AAA games.
