PlayStation now has a mobile division, as it acquires Savage Game Studios
PlayStation seems to be pushing towards the mobile market, as it sets up a dedicated mobile division, and acquires a mobile-focused studio.
Earlier today (August 29), PlayStation announced that it is acquiring mobile game developer Savage Game Studios. If you haven’t heard of it before, that might be because it hasn’t actually released a game yet, though its co-founders do include former Zynga, Rovio, and Insomniac staff, so there’s plenty of experience in the industry at the very least.
On top of that, PlayStation also announced that Savage Game Studios is joining the newly created PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, as sure a sign as any that the company wants to head into the mobile market. The newly created division “will operate independently from our console development and focus on innovative, on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP,” as described on the PlayStation Blog announcement post.
Savage Game Studios is already working on an unannounced, new AAA mobile live service action game, so it sounds like Sony doesn’t just want pre-established in its mobile game lineup.
PlayStation also compared its mobile gaming plans to what it is currently doing with bringing its games to PC, saying that its “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.”
Explaining why Savage Game Studios decided to join PlayStation, co-founder Michail Katkoff said “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.”
More mobile related acquisitions are likely in PlayStation’s future, which in a year filled with as many acquisitions as we’ve seen already, would not be particularly surprising.
