While Microsoft and the Xbox team shocked the world last month with the surprise announcement that they would be taking over Activision Blizzard, many wondered how Sony would react to the potential loss of franchises such as Call of Duty or Overwatch. The speculators didn't have to wait long for a big response from the Japanese console manufacturer. Sony announced this past week that they have acquired Destiny developers Bungie.
While the move may not be as big of a score as Activision Blizzard, it still made a big statement and we believe Sony will be announcing more deals in the near future. We asked our staff who they think should become part of the extended PlayStation family in this week's edition of Shack Chat.
Shack Chat: Which studio should Sony acquire next?
Supergiant Games - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Acquisitions Editor
Put your tomatoes down. Hear me out on this.
Out of the hundreds of indie gaming studios out there, few have been as successful as Supergiant Games. Their games are consistently great, always distinct and different from one another. They're beloved by fans and critics alike. They're one of the most creative forces in gaming. So you're probably asking yourselves, why would I want them to be acquired by the corporate giant that is Sony?
The answer comes from the other story that broke a few hours after Bungie's acquisition. I look at the payday that Josh Wardle is getting from the New York Times for Wordle and I think to myself, "You know what? Good for him." He had an idea, he put a lot of work into it, and he's getting paid for his efforts. We like to see good people get rewarded for their effort.
You know who deserves to get rewarded for their effort? Supergiant Games does. I want Sony to open their checkbook, write a big nine or ten-figure number down, and make sure these wonderful people get paid for their body of work, past, present, and future. More than that, because we've seen the creative freedom that Sony has given its first-party studios, I'd love to see what Supergiant can come up with and what they can do with a massive budget. A Supergiant title with the monetary reins taken off could be something magical and I hope we get to see that vision realized.
Supermassive Games - Donovan Erskine, Editor
Until Dawn might be the most underrated PlayStation exclusive of the last decade. Although Supermassive Games would go on to develop and publish more choice-based horror games that improved on the formula and were playable on multiple platforms, I’ve yearned for a sequel to Until Dawn. If Sony bought Supermassive, they could bring the studio back home to where they published their most notable game, and give them all the resources they need to deliver a banger sequel.
Square Enix - Blake Morse, Co-EIC
If you look at the relationship between Square Enix and Sony this makes a ton of sense. They’ve had a number of titles, including the Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Dragon Quest 11, come out as timed exclusives on the PlayStation platform. And, at least to me, Sony seems to embrace JRPGs in a way that Xbox never has. Perhaps that’s because Sony is a Japanese company? It’s hard to say, but I’d imagine that factors into it. I think this would be a chance for PS to lean heavily into that JRPG fan base even more and claim it as its own. If Sony is really serious about more acquisitions, Square Enix seems like a great place to start.
Konami - Sam Chandler, More Metal Gear
I think I’m with Denny on this one. Sony already has Kojima under its wing, so by purchasing Konami and acquiring all of its IP, we could get another shot at the Metal Gear series. Furthermore, we could actually dive into another Silent Hill experience. It might be good to breathe a bit of fresh air into Konami, too.
Klei - Chris Jarrard, Head is too big for PSVR 2
If I was at the controls for Sony, I might take a strong glance at some of the premier indie talent releasing games through Steam that haven’t already been snatched up by Embracer or one of the other growing publishers. One such studio that could do some great work would be Klei. This team has been responsible for some of the best indie releases of the last decade, including Don’t Starve and Griftlands. While Sony has paid lots of lip service to showcasing and nurturing indie development within the PlayStation ecosystem, the results say that it isn’t working when you look at what Nintendo is doing with the Switch and the trends that continue on Steam.
11 bit studios - Bill Lavoy, Co-EIC
I’m going for something obscure here, mostly because my colleagues took all the bigger options, as is their right since they filled out their answers before I did. But I think Sony would be wise to take a run at some smaller developers like 11 bit studios. Add to that catalog of great games under your brand and give smaller developers money to go out and make more great games. 11 bit studios not only make great games, but important ones. This War of Mine told a very important story from a unique angle, and a studio like that would do nothing but add value to Sony.
Capcom - TJ Denzer, Senior News Editor
PlayStation went and bought the EVO fighting game tournament organization in 2021. Mind-blowing to be sure, but now it’s in prime position to solidify itself as the platform for fighting games and FGC competition for the foreseeable future. A way to put the nail in that coffin would be to buy Capcom ahead of any mention of Street Fighter 6.
For better or worse, in my opinion, Street Fighter is still the premier fighting game IP in the world, an easy headliner for most tournaments. There’s also the Resident Evil and Monster Hunter IPs that are each worth millions of dollars on their own even before you consider Capcom’s other solid franchises like Devil May Cry. The company has a well-rounded catalog and the fighting game connection in Street Fighter would make for amazing synergy with PlayStation’s already existing ownership of EVO. The more I have looked at this, the more I believe it’s not a matter of if Sony makes Capcom a PlayStation Studio, but when.
Capcom-Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo show host, buyer of companies
Sony buying Bungie brings up the question of if Sony bought another company, what would it be? I was thinking about this and most of my first picks would make a way better Nintendo acquisition than they would for Sony. That being said, Capcom could make sense for Sony to look at next. Prior to recently, Mega Man games were really only released on Sony systems. The newer Resident Evil games have homes on Sony systems as well. If this means we get more Mega Man, then I’m all for it. It also could mean that one of my favorite fighting series, Darkstalkers, could get the love it deserves, with a brand new entry in the series. That one feels like a pipedream but who knows what could come back in this crazy world of ours.
Konami - Dennis White, Social Media Master
Since a few other staff members already brought up Capcom which is my obvious choice for a Sony acquisition, I want to talk about another no-brainer in my opinion. Konami has some absolutely classic franchises, like Castlevania and Metal Gear. They also own rights to a fighting game series I would love to see make a return with the power of the PS5 being what it is and that’s Bloody Roar! Also, it’s been almost 20 years since the last Team Silent Silent Hill game was made. The interest is still there and it would be a powerful exclusive for PlayStation especially if the creative vision and partnership with Kojima is revitalized. Even a proper remake of Silent Hill 2 or 3 by the now Sony-owned Blupoint would generate a ton of interest. Horror remakes are trending well with the Dead Space remake on the way. Konami is barely doing anything with most of their IPs right now so Sony snagging them would be a huge win and within their budget. My fingers are crossed that they make this power move in the future!
There you have it, folks. The Shack staff has offered their thoughts. Who do you think Sony will grab next? Who should they grab? Let us know in the comments below!
-
Shacknews
replyShack Staff posted a new article, Shack Chat: Which studio should Sony acquire next?
