Sony buys 'Returnal' developer Housemarque
It's the 13th studio to join Sony's in-house PlayStation roster.
Sony has acquired Housemarque, the Helsinki-based studio behind PlayStation games including Returnal for the PS5, and arcade-style shooters like Super Stardust HD and Dead Nation. Financial details have not been disclosed. The move sees Sony Interactive Entertainment further bolstering its in-house gaming roster after previously snapping up Ratchet and Clank developer Insomniac Games in 2019. Before that, it acquired Killzone developer Guerilla and Sucker Punch, the studio behind the critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima.
With the addition of Housemarque, Sony Interactive Entertainment now has 13 companies under its PlayStation Studios banner. The deal should help it to go toe-to-toe with Microsoft, which recently completed a massive acquisition itself by snagging Bethesda's parent ZeniMax for $7.5 billion as part of its bid to offer more Xbox Game Pass titles. After a run of classic PlayStation games, Housemarque recently reiterated its credentials with Returnal, a PS5 title that was greeted with widespread acclaim.
“Housemarque has flexed its creative palette on a wide range of PlayStation games over the years that have continually showcased the power of our hardware,” said Jim Ryan, president and CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment. “The addition of Housemarque to PlayStation Studios reiterates our commitment to elevating the best development teams in the industry and delivering new experiences that can only be found on the PlayStation platform.”
Correction: this article originally stated that Microsoft purchased ZeniMax for $750 billion; the amount was $7.5 billion. We apologize for the error.
