Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced its plan to acquire Cinemersive Labs, a UK-based outfit that specialises in machine learning and computer vision.
This isn't a new game studio; it's a team that'll be joining the company's R&D division, Visual Computing Group, which is predominantly concerned with neural networks, machine learning, and so on.
"At Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the company behind the PlayStation brand, we are continually exploring new ways to push the boundaries of visual computing and deliver richer, more immersive gameplay experiences," reads the statement on the company's website.
"Today, we are pleased to announce that SIE has entered into an agreement to acquire Cinemersive Labs, a UK-based machine learning and computer vision company."
Cinemersive Labs was founded in 2022, and going by its website, has specialised in developing tech that can turn a two-dimensional photograph into a "volumetric 3D immersive experience".
"Following the acquisition, the Cinemersive Labs team will join SIE’s Visual Computing Group (VCG) and contribute to our broader efforts in advancing state of the art visual computing within games. This includes applying machine learning to enhance gameplay visuals, improve rendering techniques, and unlock new levels of visual fidelity for players."
In the quote above, it seems the company will form part of an internal group focusing on ways to deliver cutting edge visuals using the latest tech.
We won't pretend to fully understand exactly what this entails, but PSSR may be an example of this group's work coming to fruition in a consumer-facing way. PSSR is an upscaling technology that utilises AI to reconstruct imagery at higher resolutions, improving the overall image quality.
This is one of those acquisitions we aren't going to see much of in the public sphere, but we imagine some of Cinemersive Labs' work will find its way into PS6 software later down the line.
Are you interested in this acquisition? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source sonyinteractive.com]
Comments 20
Breaking news, Cinemersive Labs is being shut down
Graphics no longer interest me. They are already good enough. Three more blades of grass in "super duper whopper resolution" is not going to impress me. Especially as it'll probably just bump the cost up even more.
I feel like Sony’s studios have always had good graphics. All of them normally always push the hardware, now lately i don’t love the stories and games as much as past Sony console games. But some of that is just the changing of what they think will sell numbers to make the dev cost’s back. Which i understand. But this should help them i suppose.
Let’s start the pool now, over or under being in business for one year?
In all seriousness the next headline will likely be: Cinemersive purportedly working on Fat Princess live service game.
@Balaam_ Yeah, so after Bluepoint, Dark Outlaw Games, London Studio, Firewalk Studios, Neon Koi, Deviation Games, PixelOpus… and now other studios that are basically on life support like Media Molecule or Haven.
And that’s without even counting the layoffs — we’re probably close to a fifth of PlayStation’s entire workforce being cut in just a few years.
I really don’t understand why some studios still want to get acquired by PlayStation, unless it’s just so the studio head can take the payout and walk away after the buyout.
The number of bad decisions from PlayStation lately is just insane — between cancelled games, industrial disasters like Concord, or even Marathon which seems to be doing slightly better but will probably end up in the same situation in a few months…
And that’s not even mentioning the massive lawsuit in London estimated at around £2 billion
"Cinemersive Labs was founded in 2022"
I'm sure their long track record of accomplishments will make this purchase into a sure fire success for Sony.
Or maybe not.
On the bright side it was probably a small cheap company with 1 piece of software Sony wanted and everyone at the company will be let go shortly as their work is absorbed into the behemoth. 😩
Edit: I take it back, company only has 8 employees, probably cost more in HR paperwork and severance pay to let them go rather than just keep them around. I hope it works out well for them. Maybe Sony will do something with their PS VR2 headset.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/cinemersive-labs
Next, thanks to Cinemersive Labs: PSSR 3
@shiny-enzo "I really don’t understand why some studios still want to get acquired by PlayStation,"
Or they're cash-strapped and it's be acquired or close down. It's easier to pick up unhealthy studios - but that also may contribute to why so many of them get shut down a short time after.
Isn’t machine learning another way of saying AI 😬 left the meltdowns begin
How about we focus on making quality games at a better pace than graphics k?
@Balaam_ I laughed very hard on the train thanks to this comment! Thanks 😂
@Max_the_German at least she isn’t hairy faced anymore
They saw that DLSS5 and thought they'd want in on that. 😂
@Boxmonkey Who knew that (checks notes) part of the human body's thermal regulation system being accurately depicted on a female videogame character would be so controversial?
PS6 will be a very very interesting machine. Can't wait to upgrade
@Colour This sort of purchase is usually for merging into the wider company. The team and their tech will simply exist within Sony rather than be a separately operated entity owned by Sony.
@LowDefAl I know I’m kidding around with seemingly every team they have doing some live service buffoonery
@shiny-enzo It's kind of funny when people lament Sony studio closures this gen and then list off a bunch of studios literally nobody cared about. A good chunk of the studios you named didn't even release a game. Firewalk released one of, if not the greatest flops in gaming ever, London Studio, respectfully wasn't exactly a diamond in PS' portfolio (I bet you'll struggle to even name ONE game from them). Deviation Games was a partnership that formed into Dark Outlaw Games, nothing came out of it. We need to stop pretending we care that studios like Neon Koi, who've literally proven nothing to us as consumers that were apparently working on mobile/GAAS got shut down.
The only studios that people even remotely paid attention to were Bluepoint and maybe Pixel Opus. Bluepoint was a kick in the groin for sure, seemed like a combination of mismanagement and tenuous commitment to pitched ideas.
It needs to be also noted that there's been somewhat of a shift in leadership which means adjustments in strategy, that involves getting rid of things incompatible with the "new" direction. For example it has been claimed that Sony seems to be pulling away from GAAS/mobile by industry journalists like Jason Schreier. If true that would mean Haven would most likely be on the chopping block. Unless they figure something out.
It's also kind of annoying when people think that closing a studio or cancelling a game is always "bad decision making", if a studio or game is simply a money pit, not contributing anything, and/or simply not in accordance with a current vision and they get closed down or cancelled... That's not necessarily a bad thing, that's being financially responsible and thinking ahead lol. Especially when past leadership was overzealous with a super risky strategy which we all know hasn't been working out.
This new studio they acquired here seems to be filling a support role.
So another support studio? Well, I ain't against that, especially if they can help other studios reach Decima Engine levels of quality.
I mean, hey, if I was head of PS Studios I would basically mandate everyone to use a fork of Decima, same thing if I was head of Xbox studios, everyone would have to use a fork of idTech 7/8.
@KPS Thanks for the much needed nuance. Well put! 👍🏼
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