PlayStation quietly acquires new developer as Xbox/Activision merger continues to stall

PlayStation Studios quietly acquired a new developer as the Xbox/Activision Blizzard merger continues to stall.

This week, Sony announced that PlayStation has acquired Firewalk Studios, a relatively new studio that was founded in 2018 as a subsidiary of ProbablyMonsters, owned by former Bungie chief, Harold Ryan.

Speaking of Bungie, Sony also acquired the former Halo turned Destiny developer in February 2022 in a deal reported to be worth $3.6 billion.

Now that Sony has acquired Firewalk Studios, it means that it is a first-party PlayStation developer. At the time of writing, Firewalk Studios hasn't released a game yet, but obviously, Sony sees potential in the team, hence why the acquisition was made.

Prior to Firewalk Studios being bought by Sony, in April 2022 the two companies announced a publishing partnership.

In a statement issued on the PlayStation Blog, the studio head, Tony Hsu said: “Our collective leadership team is no stranger to building memorable multiplayer experiences.” Hsu added: “We’re thrilled to announce a partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment for our new, original multiplayer game.”

In a more recent PlayStation Blog post announcing this week's news, the head of PlayStation Studios, Herman Hulst said that Firewalk is: “already hard at work on their first original AAA multiplayer game for PlayStation.”

It remains to be seen what the first game from Firewalk Studios will be. However, in an article from February 2022, Sony stated that it intends to release 10 new live-service games by 2026. So don’t be surprised if the focus of the newly acquired PlayStation Studios developer attempts to make a splash in the live-service market.

Interestingly, this deal was quietly made while Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard still looms. In related news, Sony fears that if/when Microsoft successfully acquires the Call of Duty publisher, it could cause “irreparable damage.”