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.
- ^ Choi, Daniel (September 14, 2005). "Phil Harrison to head up SCE Worldwide Studios for Sony". Joystiq. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Destiny 2 dev Bungie laying off 220 devs and handing new game to Sony". July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Contributor, Vikki Blake (October 29, 2024). "Sony shuts Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
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