Sony has announced ambitions to release games on PC and mobile devices and deliver live service games, which allow continuously updated play.
According to a top executive, Sony Group's gaming division is considering further investments to support its push into PC and mobile as the developer of the PlayStation 5 battles for talent with well-funded rivals and as dealmaking in the sector heats up.
"Further investments in areas that will strengthen the expansion on to PC, on to mobile and into live services, that's definitely a possibility for us," Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios said.
Recent transactions by Sony, such as the $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie, the studio behind the multiplayer "Destiny" franchise, which Sony manages outside of its PlayStation Studios network, highlight the company's fundamental transformation.
Minority ownership in the Japanese developer FromSoftware, whose action role-playing game "Elden Ring" has sold more than 16.6 million copies, is among other investments.
Sony's studios are known for single-player console games like "Spider-Man" and "God of War."
"You should think of collaborations on the game development side first and foremost, but it's also not unthinkable with our PlayStation Productions efforts that we explore opportunities," Hulst of the FromSoftware investment, said.
Hulst, who is headquartered in the Netherlands and assumed his position in 2019, has presided over the expansion of PlayStation Studios to 19 studios, adding Nixxes, a company that converts console games for the PC, and Savage Game Studios, a mobile game developer. Analysts anticipate Sony to continue making deals given the size of the revolution that the gaming industry is aiming to achieve.
With this year's "Uncharted" movie grossing over $400 million internationally and a TV series based on "The Last of Us" property from its Naughty Dog studio debuting on HBO next year, Sony is developing an increasing number of game adaptations.
"I think that they're still going to add studios," Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy, said.
Jim Ryan, the president of Sony's games division, has voiced concerns about the mega-possible deal's effects on PlayStation players. It has been praised that the strength of PlayStation's studio network sets it apart from Xbox creator Microsoft, which is attempting to acquire Activision Blizzard.
"If Sony can pull off what they did with single-player experiences but (as) multiplayer experiences across platforms, on the PC, on consoles, and maybe even on the phone, then all bets are off," Toto said, highlighting the popularity of online games like Fortnite from Epic Games.
