PlayStation Studios makes its first mobile acquisition | Pocket Gamer.biz
PlayStation Studios has announced the acquisition of Savage Game Studios, making it the first acquisition of their mobile division, PlayStation Mobile.
“Today, we announced that we have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Savage Game Studios, a hugely talented team of creatives with many years of experience making some of the most popular mobile games enjoyed by players around the world,” wrote PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst.
“They were founded a few years ago with the goal of fearlessly exploring bold new ideas. We share their tireless ambition to innovate, along with a continued drive to expand our audience and bring PlayStation to more people than ever before, making them a perfect fit to join PlayStation Studios.”
This acquisition sees Savage Game Studios join other esteemed developers such as Sucker Punch, Insomniac, and Naughty Dog under the PlayStation studios umbrella.
Expanding the brand
Savage Game Studios CEO and co-founder Michail Katkoff stated: “We made this deal because we believe that PlayStation Studios’ leadership respects our vision for how we can best operate and succeed, and because they too are not afraid to take chances.”
“All of that, plus the ability to potentially tap into PlayStation’s amazing catalog of IP and the fact that we will benefit from the kind of support that only they can provide… The harder question to answer would be “why not?””
Despite their increasing presence across platforms, Hulst affirmed that this doesn’t represent a diminishing commitment to the PlayStation community, or their passion for single-player and narrative-driven experiences.
“Our mobile gaming efforts will be similarly additive, providing more ways for more people to engage with our content, and striving to reach new audiences unfamiliar with PlayStation and our games. Savage Game Studios is joining a newly created PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, which will operate independently from our console development and focus on innovative, on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP,” said Hulst.
The focus on adapting PlayStation IPs could see Savage Games tackle acclaimed franchises such as The Last of Us, Horizon, and Ghost of Tsushima. This is in line with the company’s increasing attempts to break into other forms of entertainment – all three of the listed titles have adaptations in the works, which could make them prime targets for Savage Game Studios to tackle, bringing the acclaimed stories to new audiences.
Last year, Sony CEO Jim Ryan stated: “PlayStation has a huge catalogue of diverse first-party IP that can transition to smartphone gaming and complement our triple-A games or live service games.”
