PlayStation Studios
Formerly |
|
---|---|
Company type | Division |
Industry | Video games |
Founded | September 1, 2005 |
Headquarters | San Mateo, California |
Key people | Hermen Hulst (CEO, Studio Business Group) |
Number of employees | ≈4,000[1] (2022) |
Parent | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
Subsidiaries | See § Studios |
Website | playstation.com/en-us/corporate/playstation-studios/ |
PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios) is a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was established as SCE Worldwide Studios in September 2005 and rebranded as PlayStation Studios in 2020.
History
[edit]On September 14, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE, now known as Sony Interactive Entertainment), the video game arm of Sony, announced the formation of SCE Worldwide Studios earlier that month, combining all studios SCE owned at the time. Phil Harrison was appointed as the division's president.[2] Shuhei Yoshida succeeded him in May 2008.[3] When Yoshida moved to lead the indie game development of SIE, Hermen Hulst, previously of SIE's Guerrilla Games studio, became the president of SIE Worldwide Studios in November 2019.[4] The studios productions are generally supported by the Visual Arts Services Group, founded in 2007 in San Diego.[5]
SIE announced the rebranding of the division to PlayStation Studios in May 2020 as part of the introduction of the PlayStation 5, which was released later that year. PlayStation Studios serves as the publishing brand for Sony's first-party development studios, as well as for games developed by studios brought in by Sony in work-for-hire situations.[6]
In 2022, Sony stated half of its first-party PlayStation Studios games will be on personal computers (PC) and mobile by 2025.[7] In August 2022, SIE announced the formation of the PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, alongside the acquisition of the company's first mobile development team, Savage Game Studios,[8] later renamed Neon Koi.[9]
In February 2024, Sony announced it would eliminate 900 jobs, or 8% of SIE and PlayStation Studios employees. These cuts included the closure of London Studio.[10][11]
In July 2024, Sony and Bungie announced that as part of restructuring at Bungie, one of the studio's incubation projects would be spun out, with the team behind the game forming a new studio within PlayStation Studios.[12][13]
In October 2024, Sony announced the closure of Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.[14][15]
Studios
[edit]Former
[edit]Name | Location | Founded | Acquired | Divested | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bigbig Studios | Leamington Spa | 2001[37] | 2007[38] | 2012[37] | Closed[37] |
Evolution Studios | Runcorn | 1999[38] | 2007[38] | 2016[39] | Closed[39] |
Firewalk Studios | Bellevue, Washington | 2018[40] | 2023[40] | 2024[41] | Closed[41] |
Guerrilla Cambridge | Cambridge | 1997[42] | — | 2017[42] | Closed[42] |
Incognito Entertainment | Salt Lake City, Utah | 1999[43] | 2002[43] | 2009[44] | Closed[44] |
Japan Studio | Tokyo | 1993[16] | — | 2021[45] | Reorganized within SIE, primarily to Team Asobi[32] |
London Studio | London | 2002[16] | — | 2024 | Closed[11] |
Manchester Studio | Manchester | 2015[16] | — | 2020[46] | Closed[46] |
Neon Koi | Berlin | 2020[8] | 2022[8] | 2024[41] | Closed[41] |
Helsinki | |||||
Pixelopus | San Mateo, California | 2014[16] | — | 2023 | Closed[47] |
Studio Liverpool | Liverpool | 1984[38] | 1993[38] | 2012[48] | Closed[48] |
Zipper Interactive | Redmond, Washington | 1995[49] | 2006[38] | 2012[49] | Closed[49] |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Team Asobi was first established in 2012 as an internal team of Japan Studio, and was spun off as its own independent studio in 2021.[32]
References
[edit]- ^ Totilo, Stephen (October 4, 2022). "PlayStation to broaden line-up, but won't abandon roots, studio chief says". Axios. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
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- ^ Dobson, Jason (May 16, 2008). "Sony finds Harrison's replacement in Shuhei Yoshida". Joystiq. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ^ Favis, Elise (November 7, 2019). "Sony appoints Guerrilla Games' Hermen Hulst new head of PlayStation worldwide studios". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ Scullion, Chris (October 26, 2022). "Sony is building a new dev team to work with Visual Arts and Naughty Dog on a 'AAA' title". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ Dring, Christopher (May 12, 2020). "Sony unveils PlayStation Studios brand to launch alongside PS5". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- ^ Bonthuys, Darryn (May 26, 2022). "Half Of PlayStation Releases Will Be On PC And Mobile By 2025, Sony Says". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
- ^ a b c Good, Owen S. (August 29, 2022). "Sony spins up PlayStation Mobile division, plans major push to phones". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ^ Tailby, Stephen (November 21, 2023). "PlayStation's Mobile Games Studio Rebrands Following Multiple Departures". Push Square. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ Gerken, Tom (February 27, 2024). "PlayStation to axe 900 jobs and close London studio". Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ a b Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 21, 2024). "PlayStation London Studio Issues Heartfelt Goodbye After Sony Studio Closure". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
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- ^ "The New Path for Bungie" (Press release). July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ Communications, S. I. E. (October 29, 2024). "An Update from PlayStation Studios". Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ Blake, Vikki (October 29, 2024). "Sony shuts Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
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- ^ a b Dring, Christopher (July 11, 2022). "Jade Raymond's Haven Studio is already inspiring other PlayStation studios - and not just with its game". Gamesindustry.biz. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
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- ^ Makuch, Eddie (July 1, 2021). "Sony Buys Another Game Studio, Avengers And Rise Of The Tomb Raider's Nixxes Software". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ Varela, Ramón (January 16, 2020). "PlayStation: Todos sus estudios y los juegos en desarrollo" [PlayStation: All your studios and games in development]. Vandal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Tolbert, Samuel (December 16, 2021). "PlayStation Studios: Everything we know Sony Worldwide Studios is working on in 2021 for PS5". Android Central. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ^ a b LeBlanc, Wesley (June 2, 2021). "Team Asobi Officially Announced as a PlayStation Studio, Reveals New Logo". IGN. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- ^ "Astro Bot Sequel Announced For PS5, Coming September 6". May 30, 2024.
- ^ a b Reiner, Andrew (December 10, 2021). "Sony To Acquire Developer Valkyrie Entertainment". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
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- ^ Barker, Sammy (September 19, 2022). "Sony XDEV's Japan Division Assisting with PS5's Rise of the Ronin". Push Square. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
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- ^ a b Brightman, James (March 22, 2016). "Sony confirms closure of Evolution Studios". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ a b "PlayStation to acquire AAA multiplayer developer Firewalk Studios". April 20, 2023. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "An Update from PlayStation Studios". Sony Interactive. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ a b c Frank, Allegra (January 12, 2017). "Sony shuts down 20-year-old studio in European restructuring". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ a b Cifaldi, Frank (May 13, 2011). "How Moving To Austin Energized Starhawk". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ a b Plunkett, Luke (January 16, 2012). "Every Game Studio That's Closed Down Since 2006". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
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- ^ a b Dring, Christopher (February 4, 2020). "PlayStation to close Manchester VR studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
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- ^ a b Yin-Poole, Wesley (July 21, 2015). "WipEout: The rise and fall of Sony Studio Liverpool". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c Moriarty, Colin (March 31, 2012). "Confirmed: Sony Closes Zipper Interactive". IGN. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.