PlayStation Studios (formerly known as SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios until 2020) is a division overseeing game development studios owned and maintained by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was founded in 2005.
PlayStation Studios acts as a single entity that oversees the production of first-party video games developed by SIE's internal development studios and external partners. It also focuses on software and applications developed for the PlayStation brand of consoles, as well as individual titles and ports to other consoles and platforms such as personal computers and mobile.
PlayStation Studios has housed nearly all game development teams within Sony Interactive Entertainment since its inception, as well as various support teams and technology developers. Since 2022, it also houses PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, which oversees game development for mobile titles.
History[]
2005 - 2016: Foundation and early years[]
Worldwide Studios was established in 2005 with Phil Harrison as its president. At the time of its establishment, Worldwide Studios consisted of Bend Studio, Cambridge Studio, recently acquired Guerrilla Games, Incognito Entertainment, Japan Studio, London Studio, Naughty Dog, Polyphony Digital, San Diego Studio, Santa Monica Studio and Studio Liverpool, for a total of 11 studios, in addition to support teams XDev Europe and San Mateo Studio. Sony Online Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment's developer for online games on personal computers, was excluded.
In 2006, Sony acquired American studio Zipper Interactive, developers of Sony's SOCOM games, making it the first acquisition under the newly-founded group. In 2007, Sony acquired British studio Evolution Studios and its sister-studio BigBig Studios, developers of the MotorStorm and World Rally Championship. In 2009, Sony closed Incognito, marking the first studio shut down since Worldwide Studios' establishment.
In 2010, Sony acquired British studio Media Molecule, developers of LittleBigPlanet. In 2011, Sony acquired long-time collaborator Sucker Punch Productions, developers of Sly Cooper and Infamous.
In 2012, Sony closed Bigbig Studios, followed by Zipper Interactive and long-time subsidiary Studio Liverpool within the same year. In 2014, Sony founded Pixelopus. In 2015, Manchester Studio was founded to work on virtual reality games. In 2016, Sony closed Evolution Studios following several commercial disappointments as well as the mixed reception to 2014's Driveclub.
2016 - 2020: Reorganization as SIE Worldwide Studios[]
In 2017, Sony closed Killzone: Mercenary and MediEvil developer Guerrilla Cambridge. In March 2018, it was announced that Sony Interactive Entertainment of America's CEO Shawn Layden will become Chairman of Worldwide Studios and concentrate on in-house and external productions associated with the group.[2]
In 2019, Sony acquired long-time collaborator and Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games following the success of 2018's Spider-Man.
In February 2020, Sony closed Manchester Studio due to the studio's mismanaged work and lack of products.
2020 - 2024: PlayStation Studios, expansion[]
In March 2021, PlayStation Studios announced its partnership with Haven Studios, a new Canadian game studio founded by executive Jade Raymond. A month later, Sony announced its partnership with ProbablyMonsters and its studio Firewalk Studios to develop a new multiplayer intellectual property. In April 2021, with the closure of Japan Studio, Sony announced Team Asobi, originally a team within Japan Studio that was spun-off into its entity thanks to the success of its Astro Bot games; the studio would be formally introduced in June the same year. That same month, Sony acquired long-time collaborator and Returnal developer Housemarque as well as PC-porting game studio Nixxes Software. The publisher also announced another partnership, with Deviation Games.
In September of the same year, Sony proceeded to acquire Liverpool-based studio Firesprite, comprised of former Studio Liverpool developers; Firesprite would then acquire Fabrik Games, a small Manchester-based studio. Later that month, Sony acquired another long-time collaborator Bluepoint Games, whose acquisition was accidentally leaked a few months earlier. In December 2021, Sony acquired Valkyrie Entertainment as a support studio.
In January 2022, Sony announced its agreement to acquire Bungie in a deal worth $3.6 billion; while Bungie will be placed under Sony Interactive Entertainment instead of being labelled PlayStation Studio, and will continue to be an autonomous, multiplatform developer and publisher, the company will be able to share and trade information, suggestions and technology with PlayStation Studios and its subsidiaries.
In March 2022, Sony announced its plans to acquire Haven Studios. The acquisitions of both Haven and Bungie were announced as completed in June 2022. In August 2022, Hulst announced the acquisition of mobile game developer Savage Game Studio (later renamed Neon Koi), and the formal introduction of PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, a mobile-focused game development team that operates separately from the main branch of PlayStation Studios.
In April 2023, Sony announced its intentions to acquire Firewalk Studios from parent company ProbablyMonsters.[3] In May 2023, Sony announced it would shut down Pixelopus.
In January 2024, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced its intentions to eliminate 900 positions, roughly 8% of its workforce, including in PlayStation Studios. These cuts included layoffs in Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Guerrilla Games, Firesprite and other facilities, as well as the proposed closure of London Studio. London Studio was shut down in May 2024.[4]
2024 - current: Formation of Studios Business Group[]
In July 2024, it was announced that as part of reconstructions with Bungie, an incubation team within the company would be spun-off into a standalone studio, and would work on a science-fiction action game. As a result, roughly 40 developers are expected to form the new studio.[5]
Division structure[]
- Head of PlayStation Studios, also serves as senior vice president ("SVP") of Sony Interactive Entertainment[6]: Hermen Hulst (since November 2019)
- Head of Internal Production: Scott Rhode, also serves as senior vice president of PlayStation Studios
- Vice President, Product Development: Grady Hunt
- Director, Product Development: Eric Hayashi
Prior to Hulst's appointment in November 2019, the top executive position of PlayStation Studios was referred to as President.[7] Between March 2018 and September 2019, following internal reconstructions within SIE, a Chairman position was filled by Shawn Layden, who oversaw the President.[8]
Studios[]
Studio | Location | Founded | Acquired | Notable releases | Additional notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bend Studio | Bend, Oregon, US | 1993 | 2000 | Syphon Filter series, Resistance: Retribution, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Days Gone | Formerly known as Eidetic |
Bluepoint Games | Austin, Texas, US | 2006 | 2021 | Shadow of the Colossus (2018), Demon's Souls (2020) | Specialization in ports, remasters and remakes |
Firesprite | Liverpool, UK | 2012 | 2021 | Horizon Call of the Mountain | Has a subsidiary called Fabrik Games |
Firewalk Studios | Bellevue, Washington, US | 2018 | 2023 | Concord | n / a |
Guerrilla Games | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2000 | 2005 | Killzone series, Horizon series | Creator of the Decima game engine |
Haven Studios | Montreal, Canada | 2021 | 2022 | Fairgames | In addition to game development, provides support with cloud-based technology |
Housemarque | Helsinki, Finland | 1995 | 2021 | Stardust series, Resogun, Returnal | n / a |
Insomniac Games | Burbank, California, US | 1994 | 2019 | Spyro the Dragon series, Ratchet & Clank series, Resistance series, Spider-Man series, Wolverine | Operates a second studio in Durham, North Carolina |
Media Molecule | Guildford, Surrey, UK | 2006 | 2010 | LittleBigPlanet series, Tearaway, Dreams | n / a |
Naughty Dog | Santa Monica, California, US | 1984 | 2001 | Crash Bandicoot series, Jak and Daxter series, Uncharted series, The Last of Us series | n / a |
Nixxes Software | Utrechet, Netherlands | 1999 | 2021 | n / a | Porting studio specializing in PC development, game optimization, game art and development support |
Polyphony Digital | Tokyo, Japan | 1998 | n / a | Gran Turismo series, Tourist Trophy | Originally a development unit called Polys Entertainment, spun-off from SCEJ in 1998; Operates three other locations in Fukuoka, Los Angeles and Amsterdam |
San Diego Studio | San Diego, US | 2001 | n / a | MLB: The Show series | n / a |
Santa Monica Studio | Los Angeles, US | 1998 | n / a | God of War series | n / a |
Sucker Punch Productions | Bellevue, Washington, US | 1997 | 2011 | Sly Cooper series, Infamous series, Ghost of Tsushima | n / a |
Team Asobi | Tokyo, Japan | 2012 | n / a | The Playroom, Astro Bot series | Spun-off from Japan Studio in 2021 |
Valkyrie Entertainment | Seattle, Washington, US | 2002 | 2021 | n / a | Support studio specializing in art and animation |
XDev | Liverpool, UK | 2000 | n / a | n / a | Spun-off from Studio Liverpool in 2012; Production team specializing in talent acquisition and collaboration with external developers outside of Sony's ownership |
Mobile Division[]
Studio | Location | Founded | Acquired | Products | Additional Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neon Koi | Berlin, Germany Helsinki, Finland |
2020 | 2022 | To be announced | n / a |
Former studios[]
Studio | Location | Lifespan | Acquired | Fate | Products | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bigbig Studios | Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, UK | 2001 - 2012 | 2007 | Closed | Pursuit Force, MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, Little Deviants | Sister-studio to Evolution Studios |
Evolution Studios | Runcorn, Cheshire, England, UK | 1999 - 2016 | 2007 | Closed | World Ralley Championship series, MotorStorm series, Driveclub | Original owner and sister-studio to Bigbig Studios |
Guerrilla Cambridge | Cambridge, England, UK | 1997 - 2017 | n / a | Closed | MediEvil series, Primal, LittleBigPlanet PSP, Killzone: Mercenary, RIGS: Mechanized Combat League | Originally called Cambridge Studio; rebranded in 2010 as a sister-studio to Guerrilla Games |
Incognito Entertainment | Salt Lake City, Utah, US | 1999 - 2009 | 2002 | Closed | Twisted Metal series, Warhawk | Maintainance on Warhawk was continued by LightBox Interactiv |
Japan Studio | Tokyo, Japan | 1993 - 2021 | n / a | Reconstructed, portion merged into Team Asobi | Games': Ape Escape, The Legend of Dragoon, Ico trinity, Gravity Rush, Knack, Astro Bot Technology: PhyreEngine |
Across the years hosted several development teams including Team Ico, Team Gravity, Exact and Team Asobi |
London Studio | London, UK | 2002 - 2024 | n / a | SingStar series, Blood & Truth | n / a | |
Manchester Studio | Manchster, England, UK | 2015 - 2020 | n / a | Closed | n / a | Virtual reality-focused developer |
Pixelopus | San Mateo, California, US | 2014 - 2023 | n / a | Closed | Entwined, Concrete Genie | Spun-off from San Mateo Studio |
Studio Liverpool | Liverpool, England, UK | 1984 - 2012 | 1993 | Closed, succeeded by XDev Europe | Lemmings series, Formula One series, WipeOut series, Colony Wars series | Originally called Psygnosis until 1999; also acted as a publishing wing |
Zipper Interactive | Redmond, Washington, US | 1995 - 2012 | 2006 | Closed | SOCOM series, MAG, Unit 13 | n / a |
Related entities[]
Visual Arts Service Group[]
PlayStation PC[]
Bungie[]
PlayStation Studios label[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.axios.com/2022/10/04/playstation-hermen-hulst-pc-mobile-interview
- ↑ https://www.sie.com/en/corporate/release/2018/180301.html
- ↑ https://blog.playstation.com/2023/04/20/welcoming-firewalk-studios-to-the-playstation-studios-family/
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-london-studio-issues-heartfelt-goodbye-after-sony-studio-closure
- ↑ https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/article/newpath
- ↑ Our Company - Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2019/11/7/20953178/sony-worldwide-studios-shuhei-yoshida-playstation-hermen-hulst-guerrilla-games
- ↑ https://sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/sony-interactive-entertainment-announces-organizational-transformation/
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Sony Interactive Entertainment Bungie (affiliate) Subsidiaries
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