Sony Should Acquire These Studios for PS5

By: Ryan Ramakrishnan

Earlier this month, Microsoft made a massive move in studio acquisitions, bigger than any they had done prior. Now that the likes of id Software, Arkane Studios and Bethesda Softworks are under the Xbox brand moving forward, Xbox Series X’s exclusives may just tackle that of PlayStation’s head on. So what’s next for Sony Interactive Entertainment and its studio acquisitions? The publisher, known for triple A exclusives that set the world on fire like “The Last of Us,” “God of War” and “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” are certainly not struggling in this department. Nevertheless, with Microsoft seemingly hunting for studios left and right, even going as far as acquiring ZeniMax Media for over $7 billion, it’s hard not to imagine PlayStation wants the same. So here are a few studios from a wide array of genres and locations that I think Sony should look to get their hands on moving forward with the PlayStation 5, especially before Microsoft pulls out another billion or so to snag them first.

The Plausible

Bluepoint Games

While most, if not all, of PlayStation’s teams and partners work on sequels and new I.P. Bluepoint Games is a bit different. Instead, they specialize in remasters and remakes. And they’re honestly really good at it. On the PlayStation 3, we were treated to a couple of HD remasters. Moving forward to the PS4, Bluepoint delivered a very polished collection of the “Uncharted” trilogy and a stunning remake of the PS2 classic, “Shadow of the Colossus.” Like the latter, “Demon’s Souls” is getting similar treatment in just a couple months as a PS5 launch title. It is safe to say that Bluepoint is a direct partner of Sony’s. They make PlayStation games for PlayStation fans who miss those classics. I think that it is a no-brainer why Bluepoint should officially join PlayStation Studios. If this doesn’t happen, it is a safe bet that they’ll continue to work on PS5 games almost exclusively but still, it seems like it’s about time they just put a ring on it. 

Housemarque

Remember when the PS4 had a bare-bones launch? One game that was a surprise hit, thanks to it being the first PS4 game free with PlayStation Plus was “Resogun.” This was a stylish and very fun shoot-em-up that assured gamers why Housemarque is low key awesome. They continued to make fun, small games of similar nature and caliber with “Alienation” and “Nex Machina” for the PS4. Continuing their association with PlayStation, the PS5 game, “Returnal” is coming soon and looks very interesting. This game is yet another PlaySation exclusive from Housemarque and shows a lot of promise with its sci-fi world and lore and roguelike action. I know I’m super interested in and I’m left wondering why Sony hasn’t just pulled the trigger on this acquisition. Housemarque shows potential with their quality games and with a tighter deal of being a part of PlayStation’s first party lineup, the games can be even better!

Kojima Productions

Now that Hideo Kojima is doing his own thing outside of Konami, he has a lot of creative freedom. Obviously look no further than the polarizing “Death Stranding.” I didn’t like the game but I love his work on “Metal Gear” and I think he’s an interesting man with a team that will surely create fresh games. And given the relationship that seems to exist between Kojima and PlayStation, I think it’s clear why there should be an acquisition. I feel like Sony may as well continue to support Kojima but even moreso and add Kojima productions to the team of PlayStation Studios. This is a match that basically exists and will surely continue with the next project of Kojima’s. So, at this point, not even considering Konami and the “Metal Gear” name but simply considering Kojima Productions, why not join PlayStation officially. 

The Caveats

Konami

Konami is in a strange place in the world of gaming today. They were once revered for I.P. like “Castelvania,” “Metal Gear Solid” and “Silent Hill.” Today, they make Pachinko machines and Yu-Gi-Oh cards. And those popular gaming franchises are seemingly forgotten about, except for the annual “Pro Evolution Soccer,” ironically. So, I think, in a perfect world, Sony would purchase Konami as a whole. This would give PlayStation the chance to lead new games from those series of the past. It’s admittedly safe to say that Konami would not do this deal. I think it’s a shame to let those I.P. rest, given the amazing quality and track record they each one had. So I say this is a caveat as a result. But what if Sony got the rights to the games Konami owns and ignores? Imagine if PlayStation can use the “Metal Gear” or “Silent Hill” names and actually execute great games like those franchises used to. I think that if Sony can’t acquire the entirety of Konami, probably due to a different M.O. they should at least try and buy out I.P.

Supermassive Games

Now this one falls under the caveats for my list because I feel its potential to be acquired may have passed. In 2015, “Until Dawn” proved to be a pleasant surprise. I know I loved the story and tone of this 80’s horror-like adventure. And yes, this was exclusive to PS4. Now, things are a little different. I would have expected “The Dark Pictures” to continue to be exclusive but Bandai Namco is publishing it for other platforms as well. And if I’m being honest, “Man of Medan” lacked the quality that “Until Dawn” had. I feel like this could have and could potentially later change if Supermassive was to stick to one platform and have Sony fund them for exclusive PS5 development. I think Supermassive seems like a developer that would fit appropriately in the PlayStation Studios lineup in the future for sure. I do however understand that they may want to continue to go multiplatform with the anthology they are in now. So the reasonable acquisition of Supermassive for Sony combined with the caveat of what they do now makes it hard to say if it could happen.

Ready At Dawn

Once upon a time, Ready At Dawn could have been mistaken for a Sony first party. They developed great “God of War” games on the PSP. And of course, they shipped “The Order 1886” a few years back. Sadly that PS4 exclusive blew it in many ways. A pretty game to look at, “The Order 1886” lacked in many ways and failed to be a big deal. Sadly, now Ready At Dawn seems to have left PlayStation behind to develop for VR. Titles like “Lone Echo” and “Echo Combat” hold the developer's name lately. But I still think this is possible. In my opinion, Ready At Dawn just needs to be given one chance from Sony to make a blockbuster PS5 game with better gameplay and more content worth talking about. And then boom, they’re back in the limelight for PlayStation fans. The caveat is that they sort of shifted gears and I don’t know that they talk much with Sony as of late. Regardless, I still see the potential and I still think Ready At Dawn has a home in PlayStation; I’d really like to see these devs give it their all. The ambition was somewhere in “The Order 1886.”

The Big Guns

Square Enix

So yeah, Square Enix is massive. Sony scooping up this publisher as a whole would be similar to Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax. But imagine if they did. Sony has a relationship with Square Enix seen through exclusivity over the years and the general association with their games and PlayStation. Look no further than “Marvel’s Avengers” and Spider-Man or “Final Fantasy VII Remake” and “Final Fantasy XVI” being PlayStation exclusives (at least at first). Or what about the PS5 exclusive, “Project Athia?” It looks super promising and yes, it's being developed for PS5. PlayStation Studios gaining the likes of “Tomb Raider” and “Just Cause” would be huge, probably the former more so. But the big seller obviously is the JRPG lineup that PS5 could snag exclusivity to across the board. “Final Fantasy” has already been doing it as of late. I see this as a reasonable acquisition for Sony in terms of major buys. We are talking about a huge, storied publisher with tons of games under their belt. But with the relationship Sony and Square seem to have and the notability of Japanese games on PlayStation make this seem like it would be a serious power move that I can get behind. 

Rockstar Games

We all want to think PlayStation can buy Rockstar, at least PlayStation fans do. But the truth is it seems too good to be true, though still worth talking about. I feel like the first issue is that Rockstar probably couldn’t be acquired out of Take Two. But there’s no way Sony grabs Take Two. I can’t at all imagine 2K games being PlayStation exclusives. And frankly, I don’t think they can either. But also, Rockstar has made stupid amounts of money through “Read Dead” and “GTA Online” on all platforms. So, I doubt they’d leave that behind. There seems to be a relationship between Rockstar Games and Sony over the years but I just don’t know if this could ever happen. I think it’d make sense and obviously would be a huge get. PlayStation gamers would rejoice. I’d also say that Rockstar’s seal of quality would be boosted even more if they were to work for only one platform and focus entirely on its hardware. It would be awesome if Rockstar joined PlayStation. A lot of people talk of this. That is why I had to. But let’s be real. It probably will never happen.

What do you Think?

Those are several studios I think PlayStation would benefit from greatly if they would acquire them. Of course, some are unlikely, others totally possible. It is hard to say for sure when talking of this. I don’t know business, especially between these game developers and publishers. Microsoft seems to be on track to buy and buy so Sony may be worried; however, they also know their audience has great exclusives they are praised for. So what do you think? Who should Sony acquire to add to PlayStation Studios? Who do you think is the most and least likely? Share with me all your thoughts in the comments below!