PlayStation just announced that it has acquired mobile developer Savage Game Studios in a bid to "expand our audience and bring PlayStation to more people than ever before".
"We made this deal because we believe that PlayStation Studios' leadership respects our vision for how we can best operate and succeed, and because they too are not afraid to take chances," Savage co-founder and CEO Michail Katkoff said. "All of that, plus the ability to potentially tap into PlayStation's amazing catalog of IP and the fact that we will benefit from the kind of support that only they can provide. The harder question to answer would be 'why not?'"
Savage Game Studios will work independently from PlayStation's console development, sticking to its mobile roots where it will not only expand on the aforementioned PlayStation catalogue, but also build on new IPs.
PlayStation has been expanding outside of its own console for the past few years now, particularly into PC where it has its own Steam publisher page and even a rumoured launcher in the works. It's ported games such as Marvel's Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, Day's Gone, Uncharted 4, Death Stranding, and even God of War, branching out and expanding its reach.
Mobile would be a fairly new venture for PlayStation as, right now, it's limited to Remote Play, a cloud streaming option that allows for you to access your console on the go. But it's not just PlayStation that is branching into mobile - Microsoft's own acquisition of Activision Blizzard was driven by its mobile presence as the console juggernaut wants to break into this enormous market. And already, Savage Game Studios is "working on a new unannounced AAA mobile live service action game.
"It's too early to reveal more, but I'm so excited for when they'll be able to", head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst said. "...They were founded a few years ago with the goal of fearlessly exploring bold new ideas. We share their tireless ambition to innovate."
PlayStation is also reportedly planning to bring Discord voice chat support to its consoles natively, letting you connect with those on PC and even Xbox, making cross-platform play that much easier. Again, all in a bid to expand reach.