21 April 2023 , 13:00
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Firewalk Studios becomes the 20th addition to the PlayStation Studios family as Sony doubles down on creating its own suite of live-service titles.
Surprise! The PlayStation family just got bigger. After previously announcing it was serious about entering the live-service space by delaying The Last of Us Part 2 online component, Factions, to refocus it into more of a platform and then hoovering up various specialist multiplayer studios, Sony again is making major plays to create its own catalogue of live-service titles on PS5 and beyond. This time it’s done so by announcing that it has now acquired Washington-based developer Firewalk Studios.
The studio, which was previously part of independent video game company ProbablyMonsters, as per a prior announcement had already been working with PlayStation on an original multiplayer IP that is yet to be announced. The console maker clearly likes what it has seen from Firewalk Studios so far – to the extent that it’s been willing to purchase it. In a post over on the PlayStation blog, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst said in a statement “the studio shares our passion for creating inspiring worlds grounded in exceptional gameplay, and we want to continue to invest in their mission”.
Hulst goes on to praise Firewalk Studios for the knowledge it’ll be able to add to the PlayStation Studios family, citing its “technical and creative expertise” with regards to live-service games as being a key addition. The developer itself is yet to release a game, but Firewalk Studio heads Tony Hsu and Ryan Ellis concurred with Hulst’s excitement, stating “we can’t wait for the next chapter in this adventure”.
According to Sony itself, Firewalk Studios is the 20th developer to be welcomed into the PlayStation Studios family, after making previous purchases for companies like Bungie, Insomniac and Nixxes in recent years. It comes during a time in the games industry where platform-holders have been buying up all kinds of independent studios and publishers, the most high-profile of which being Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard which is still waiting approval from global regulators.
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Firewalk with me
Sony has been on a hot-streak when it comes to AAA games with a single-player and narrative focus as of late. Recent PS5 hits like God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart have all impressed on this front, but one area where the platform has been lacking is in the live-service online multiplayer realm. As such, it’s no surprise to see Sony continuing to make investments in specialist studios like Firewalk.
Gone are the days when PlayStation could just bolt on an undercooked multiplayer mode and get away with it. No, to truly capture the mindshare of players, you have to create not just a game but a platform that people can invest in over a long period of time and provides multiple reasons to return – that’s why its purchase of Destiny 2 studio Bungie last year made a lot of sense.
It’s a little concerning that Firewalk Studios is yet to release a game. Having been founded in 2018 as part of another independent video game collected, it has already been working with PlayStation on this as yet unannounced multiplayer game based on an original IP, but at this stage it’s hard to judge on what quality level this will be. However, it must be impressive for them to already be welcomed into the PlayStation Studios family.