Over recent years, Microsoft and Sony have cozied up with various developers on different projects. For example, Sony seems to have gotten comfortable with Activision, where Microsoft seems to have gotten close to Bethesda. Recently, Video Games Chronicle reported that Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki indicated an interest in making developer acquisitions in the future. Mentioning the successful acquisition of Marvel's Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games and how it will help lead to first-party growth, Totoki went on to say that, in the future, Sony "will continue to pursue growth investment opportunities that will enhance our own content IP.”
As such, it's worth asking: what developers are next?
Likely Possibilities
First and foremost, Bluepoint Games immediately comes to mind. Developing almost exclusively for Sony consoles, its work began on the PlayStation 3 with Blast Factor, but it went on to develop the remastered God of War Collection for PlayStation 3. All told, the developer's portfolio includes few projects on other consoles, with the exceptions of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Titanfall for Xbox 360. Beyond this, Bluepoint has developed exclusively for PlayStation consoles, most recently with the very well-received Shadow of the Colossus remake. Therefore, an acquisition of Bluepoint Games is the next logical step, especially given rumors of its development of a remake Demon's Souls, FromSoftware's first effort in the Souls series exclusively released on PlayStation 3.
The Silent Hill franchise also might be worth it for Sony. Tallying up its releases across different consoles, the Silent Hill franchise has seen more releases on Sony consoles than any others. The series saw its inception on PS1, with most of the following games releasing on other consoles as well. Regardless, acquiring the Silent Hill franchise could be worth it in the long run.
Ultimate Goals
A FromSoftware acquisition could be a worthy move by Sony as well. Some of FromSoftware's recent efforts have been developed exclusively for Sony platforms. While the Dark Souls series and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice were developed for multiple platforms, FromSoftware's Demon's Souls, as stated previously, was developed for PlayStation 3. Furthermore, Bloodborne, arguably FromSoftware's best effort, was developed exclusively for PlayStation 4 and to great success. No doubt, many gamers would flock to Sony systems for the opportunity to play FromSoftware games alone.
The Metal Gear Solid franchise would also be a very logical acquisition. While Konami has published Metal Gear Solid titles on Xbox platforms in recent years, including Metal Gear Survive and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, as well as 2011's Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, there are some Metal Gear Solid games that either never hit non-Sony consoles or were released years later on them.
The first Metal Gear Solid, for instance, was exclusively released on PS1 before being remade later in the form of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for Gamecube. Then, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater had originally been released on PlayStation 2 before its eventual inclusion in the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. And Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots only ever released on PlayStation 3 and is available through PlayStation Now. As such, given this development history and the franchise's fandom, it would seem wise to acquire the popular stealth-oriented franchise.
Sony's desire to acquire more companies seems to be a smart idea. As Totoki implied, it's helped grow the company's brand and original IP's. However, some developers would prove more valuable than others, and Sony would be smart to consider its history with these developers before making the ultimate decision.