October2023
Gallery PlayStation Studios Boss Hermen Hulst's X Avatars Are Just the Best
A man of many faces
It's no secret that PlayStation's top dogs aren't particularly active on social media. If you follow the likes of Hermen Hulst, Mark Cerny, and other higher-ups, you won't spot a whole lot of posts from them, in general. Shuhei Yoshida is the exception to the rule, but Jim Ryan, soon-to-be ex-CEO of the company, doesn't seem to...
July2023
News PlayStation Developer Firesprite Has Moved to a New Studio, and It Looks Expensive
The swankiest place in Liverpool
It turns out you're not allowed to be part of PlayStation Studios unless you have a really cool office space. The latest member of Sony's first-party group to move into some swanky new digs is Firesprite, PlayStation's largest UK-based team. We can see the brand new studio in an update on its website, and it looks...
March2023
News Metacritic Crowns Sony the Best Games Publisher of 2022
Last year's games were "consistently good"
Each year, Metacritic runs the numbers on all the games released in the previous 12 months to determine which publisher put out the best stuff. The site, which aggregates review scores across all popular media, has crunched all that data, and coming out on top for 2022 is Sony Interactive Entertainment...
News Uh Oh! Sony Patents NFT Trading Framework for Gaming Platforms
Can't funge this
Rifling through publicly available patents is a strange pastime, but it's one that observant industry-watchers seem to be into. Last we heard, Sony had patented a system to help people's posture during play, and now we're onto another one — only this one may leave a sour taste. As you can see here, Sony has filed a patent for an...
News PlayStation Legend Shuhei Yoshida to Be Awarded the BAFTA Fellowship
Top honours for Sony exec
Shuhei Yoshida, one of PlayStation's best and most beloved executives, is to be recognised for his achievements at this year's BAFTA Games Awards. During the awards ceremony, he'll be given the BAFTA Fellowship award, the organisation's top honour. The BAFTA Fellowship is a 'Hall of Fame' style award, recognising...
September2022
News Sony Won't Let Microsoft's $69 Billion Activision Acquisition Go, Stresses It's Bad for Gaming
Deal to be further investigated
Update: Microsoft has responded to Sony's comments about the acquisition with yet another statement to GamesIndustry. A spokesperson said: "It makes zero business sense for Microsoft to remove Call of Duty from PlayStation given its market leading console position." This doesn't necessarily mean Microsoft would keep...
August2022
News Sony to Acquire Minority Stake in Elden Ring Dev FromSoftware
Tencent, too
FromSoftware, the studio behind hit RPGs like Elden Ring and Dark Souls, has today announced it will be selling new shares to both Sony and Tencent. Kadokawa Corporation, the current owner of FromSoft, will retain the majority of shares, owning 69.66 per cent of the studio. Sony will purchase a 14.09 per cent stake, and Tencent...
News PlayStation Acquires Savage Game Studios, Focusing on Mobile Games
PlayStation Studios grows once again
PlayStation has today announced its plan to acquire Savage Game Studios to bolster its mobile games development. Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, made the announcement over on the PS Blog. If you don't know the team, it's a company comprising two European studios that make mobile games. Among its staff...
June2022
News PlayStation Won't Be at Gamescom This Year
SIE will not be in the building
PlayStation won't be at Gamescom this year, according to a statement issued to the German outlet Games Wirtschaft, in which a spokesperson for Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed the company would not have a presence at the August convention. Recently, Nintendo announced it would not be attending Gamescom, and...
News Share Factory Studio's New Bits Feature Lets You Meme Up a Storm on PS5
Turn your video clips viral, maybe
So, how many of you use PS5's Share Factory Studio? We'll be honest, we nearly forgot it exists, but it's actually a neat way of jazzing up your gameplay clips before you post them online. Today, Sony has brought it back to the forefront with an all new feature: Bits. In a nutshell, Bits encompass a new way to use...
News PS5 Has Now Sold Over 20 Million Units as Sony Plans to Ramp Up Production
The only way is up
Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed that it's now sold more than 20 million PS5 consoles worldwide. As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the platform holder has reached this figure not long after its last financial reports in early May. At the time, Sony stated it had shipped 19.3 million units, but it's now crossed over the...
May2022
News PlayStation Studios Investment to Be Split Evenly Between Existing and New IP by 2025
More new faces coming
PlayStation has an immense back catalogue of valuable IPs, but part of the company's success is its willingness to explore new territory. Through each hardware generation, we've been treated to brand new worlds and characters, and these new ventures have of course been supported by reliable sequels in popular series. It looks...
News Horizon Forbidden West PS5 Bundle Registrations Now Open in USA
Good luck getting your hands on one
Console bundles are nothing new, as packaging a high-profile game alongside a brand new console is a no-brainer. It's perhaps due to a lack of PS5 stock that Sony's latest hasn't had an official bundle so far in its lifecycle. Until now, that is. As first relayed by the inimitable Wario64 via Twitter, and
News PS Plus Subscriber Count Slightly Down Year-on-Year to 47.4 Million
New PS Plus just around the corner, though
According to Sony's latest financial report, PS Plus is still going strong, though the number of subscribers has been fluctuating. Year-on-year, the current figure sits at 47.4 million users, which is a small decrease from 47.6 million in the same period of FY 2020. Of course, that's not the full story...
News 19.3 Million PS5 Consoles Have Been Shipped So Far
Forecast missed thanks to supply issues
Sony has released its financial report for its 2021 fiscal year, of course including a rundown of how things are going in the land of PlayStation. Within the last 12 months, the company has shipped 11.5 million PS5 units. Added to the figure from FY 2020, that brings lifetime shipments to 19.3 million units...
April2022
Video Is Live Service Really the Way Forward for PlayStation?
Are things always better with friends?
Sony has always prided itself as a harbourer of high quality single player experiences. Anyone that is even remotely familiar with the word 'PlayStation' will know about the titles synonymous with it, such as The Last Of Us, God of War, and Ghost of Tsushima. However, Sony's reputation as a single-player...
News Death Stranding Added to PlayStation Studios Banner, Probably Isn't What It Looks Like
Acquisition speculation continues
Rumours have been flying around about new acquisitions for PlayStation for a while now, including the potential purchase of Kojima Productions. Hideo Kojima's independent studio developed Death Stranding, a PlayStation console exclusive on PS4 and, with the Director's Cut, PS5 as well. Fast-forward to now, and an...
March2022
News PS5, PS4 Exclusives Not Coming to PS Plus at Launch
First-party games not joining service straight away
Amid all the news surrounding Sony's upcoming changes to PlayStation Plus is a snippet that's flying under the radar. According to PlayStation's CEO Jim Ryan, the platform holder's first-party exclusives won't be joining PS Plus day-and-date with the regular launch. This is of course a big point...
Guide PS App: How to Send PS5 Screenshots to Your Phone
How do enable captures on mobile
How do you send PS5 screenshots to your phone? Sony has recently added functionality to its smart device application, allowing those with a PS5 to automatically upload their screenshots and clips so they appear in the app. As part of our PS5 guide, we'll explain how to send PS5 screenshots to your phone. PS App:...
News PlayStation App Update Allowing Auto-Upload of PS5 Captures Finally Available in Europe
What a pretty picture
A little while ago, it was reported that the PlayStation mobile app would be getting a very handy feature. Basically, it would allow you to see your PlayStation 5 screenshots and clips within the app automatically, and from there, it would be much easier to share. This functionality has been available in the US for a couple of...
News Sony Acquires Haven Studios, the New Developer Led By Jade Raymond
"Exceptional team of talent" says Sony
Sony has announced the acquisition of Jade Raymond's development team, Haven Studios. The value of the deal is unknown. If you're unfamiliar with the name, we wouldn't be surprised. This is a new studio that has yet to put out a game, and is currently working on a PlayStation exclusive live service title. This...
November2021
Feature PS5 Report Card - How Is It After One Year?
PS5's first year in review
Yes, it really has been a full year since the launch of PlayStation 5. Sony's latest console debuted exactly a year ago today — in the US, at least — and we've been spending the last 12 months getting to know the white and black box. The question is: how is the PS5 faring after one year? Are all the fancy hardware...
News PlayStation Direct Online Store Now Live in the UK, Germany
Other European countries to follow
Update (10/11/21): Following the launch of PlayStation Direct in Germany on Monday, Sony's online retail store is now live in the UK: You can access the UK version of the site through the link. PS Direct will be rolling out to other European countries in the near future, and we expect the below list of...
News Sony Acquires Minority Stake in Publisher Devolver Digital
London Stock Exchange values indie label at nearly $1 billion
Update: Sony's investment in Devolver Digital has been made official. PlayStation tweeted recently to say it's "honored to be an investor" in the publisher: This follows reports earlier today that the deal was on the cards following Devolver's move to a publicly traded company on the...
News Sony's PS Vita Trademark Partially Revoked in Europe Because It Isn't Being Used
Awkward
Vita might mean life, but it seems Sony's interest in the handheld is practically dead. The platform holder almost shut down the device's PS Store, but backlash from fans forced it to walk back the decision. Now, the company is losing some of its rights to the term 'Vita' due to "non-use", which would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. Yes,...
