If they own the Kena IP then why is there still a pc version? I dont think they own the IP.

I'm sure millions would rush out to buy a PS5 if this was exclusive. The first game was good, but it's not a AAA blockbuster, so what's the point of buying the rights or studio?

@JustBusiness So all future games from them are PS5/6 exclusives. And maybe they like working together.

I doubt Sony outright bought the IP. If they did buy the studio, they would've made one of those posts on social media saying they did. I know they're publishing it which may be why they have the copyright.

Edit: Did some research and the IP is still owned by Ember Light based on trademark. Death Stranding, for example, had the trademark transferred from Sony to Kojima's Studio when he bought the rights back, and the transaction is publicly shown on a trademark website, whilst no transaction is shown for the Kena IP and Ember. So this is likely a nothing burger and just copyright stuff due to publishing by Sony.

I'm just looking forward to the game, I don't care who owns the rights to it

I think this article is clickbait and tabloid level journalism.

If they did buy the IP or the studio that would be pretty good for Sony and Ember Lab. The First Kena game was received and did well and I think the second one will do well as well. Sony have a Studio who does a good AA almost AAA game isn't a bad thing. Ember Lab would get money behind them for future projects as well.

If they bought the IP it would still be cool because I'm sure Ember Lab can do a lot of good things with the Kena Universe and Kena in general.

I'm excited for the game regardless, but I do need to actually get around to finishing the first one lol. Also it's always nice to see Lisa, she looks great in the little trailer.

Perfectly plausible. We’ll probably find out soon enough

Big news for fans of games that look great but are boring to play

@XenonKnight Have you bothered reading the article? He’s not claiming its confirmed, just that it seems likely. Sony themselves state that Kena is a trademark of Sony Interactive entertainment LLC, when it used to say Ember Lab LLC. Thats pretty significant. It isnt proof, but he’s not claiming it is. But is enough to suspect there might be an (IP) acquisition. He’s not making unsubstantiated claims or clickbait journalism

Would be a good move. First game was pretty great. Have high hopes for the second one.

On the PS Store, the sequel states that it's a Sony Interactive Entertainment game. Whereas the first game still states Emberlab.

It would be a pretty random acquisition if true.

@get2sammyb Careful! You don't want to fall foul of the moderators for flaming/arguing! 😂

@JustBusiness I personally like the thought of Sony branching out from exclusively doing AAA. Very few games are system sellers and not all games need to be, sometimes making stuff for your existing customers is appreciated.

@SMJ No it wouldn’t. Ember Lab has a close working relationship with Sony. Sony funded and marketed their first game. And they’re funding and publishing Scars of Kosmora as well. An acquisition wouldnt exactly come out of nowhere.

A random acquisition would be Hello Kitty Adventure or something 💀

@Llamageddon I'm not disagreeing with you, but they did a lot of smaller/experimental titles during the PS4 era and none of them were sales or critical successes.

@XenonKnight
"then why is there still a pc version?"

They could easily shelve this and release on PS only.

@JustBusiness
The thing is, this might make good business sense.
You are right, the original was realistically a very well made AA game - so the IP would be cheaper. If Sony have bought the IP, they are probably sure it has AAA potential.
They may then purchase the studio if they do a good job with a more AAA sequel - a test for the studio if you like.

(Edit) Sony's staked interest would mean that a successful sequel would not raise the price of the studio as much, as it would limit the interest of others. There may even be a 1st refusal deal in place.

Sony doesn't need anymore California studios, way to expensive.

Why not add Until Dawn 2 in the reel, thats also coming up. Sony always misses a few games in these marketing reels, such missed opportunities

@Rich33 Sony is more likely to buy the studio then just the IP. Because more games like this to fill this niche would help with supporting the PS6. And Sony could fund them hiring more so they could work on two AA games at the same time.

As written in the video Kena Scars of Kosmora is a trademark of SIE LLC
They didn't mention just the word Kena or the last title Kena Bridge of Spirits.
Sony may have simply hired the dev to do this game for them - Sony finances it, owns the title, and will release it on PS and PC.

And surely they didn't buy the studio.
Bloodborne is also a trademark of SIE for example, doesn't mean that From Software belongs to Sony - they hired FS to make it, Sony owns the IP, and publishes it wherever they see fit (just not on PC, ha ha)

We will never see another Kena game after this for decades if thats that case 👀

@8th_Observer To which smaller/experimental games are you referring? I thought they had made a CG short film based on Majora’s Mask before Kena, but that was all.

@SuperSilverback That’s ironic, since Sony is one of the reasons that made these games possible in the first place

@Shinnok789 (just not on PC, ha ha)

I'm so glad Playstation ended there mistake of putting 1st party single player games on pc.

@XenonKnight
"Sony is more likely to buy the studio then just the IP"

Maybe, maybe not.
I'm sure we have seen a similar step-by-step behaviour from Sony in the past, when making aquisitions, and maybe they are returning to this.

Basically, they want to further 'Test' the studio before purchasing.

The purchase of the IP would be a somewhat new behaviour from Sony, but it makes sense - it makes interest from other potential buyers lower, if the sequel is successful, leading to an easier purchase.
There may even be a 1st refusal purchase deal signed, based on unit sales etc of the sequel.

@Stevemalkpus Concrete Genie, Bound, Knack, Entwined

@Rich33 They cant do anymore Bungies. What a screw up.

It’s a small get if true but still a nice get. I am more interested in that Sly Cooper rumor and who would be making it. Now that for me is a system seller. I know i know a $1000 dollars to play Sly Cooper is crazy, i am not disagreeing with anyone thinking that. HAHA

@LogicStrikesAgain Okay, it would be random if the sequel was made a PlayStation exclusive.

It's also an IP that has close to zero recognition to the vast majority of gamers.

@8th_Observer I must have misunderstood.
I thought we were talking about Ember Lab. Concrete Genie and Entwined were Pixelopus and I think Knack was Japan Studio.

@8th_Observer you're right but I am speaking strictly from the my perspective as a gamer rather than that of a shareholder. It's more of a smaller budget, shorter Dev time games to fill in the gaps between the AAA's. I do miss the old experimental Sony, even if that was a long time ago now

Sony appears to have acquired the Kena intellectual property based on updated legal disclaimers, though it has not been officially confirmed by Sony or developer Ember Lab.

• Updated Trademark Notice: A promotional trailer for Kena: Scars of Kosmora on the official PlayStation YouTube Channel lists the game as a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE).
• Previous Ownership: Earlier trailers and the original release of Kena: Bridge of Spirits credited the IP and characters strictly to developer Ember Lab, LLC.
• Studio Acquisition Status: While the trademark shift points to Sony holding the rights to the franchise, it remains unconfirmed whether Sony has also purchased Ember Lab itself or if this is part of a publishing or collateral arrangement

@XenonKnight Not my meaning, it's just sarcasm aimed at Sony's refusal to touch the IP in any way, be that a PC port or a PS Remaster/Remake - not aimed against PC players.

Besides, right now PC already has the best version of Bloodborne via alternate means, it's full of graphical improvements and has tons of mods - a modern Remaster il all but the official name.

@XenonKnight
And their recent aquisitions pain may be pushing them back to more careful habits (though it wasn't just the choice of who to buy that was the issue as Bluepoint were purchased after the successful Demon Souls 'Test' ) .

I may be wrong in that Sony may be wanting a high quality AA studio - it just hasn't been their priority for a while now. Its also possible Sony have bought the studio and not announced it. Just going on what we do know, I can see sense in each of the scenarios, with an end point of a purchase.

Edit: removed another unintentional emoji.

@Stevemalkpus We were talking about why Sony focuses mostly on large projects.

@Llamageddon I like to think that we all have a vested interest in the success of both the platform and the individual games on it. If a project does well, we will likely get more of it. It’s such a cutthroat business anymore, but sales successes are the best way to get more of what we want!

@Shinnok789 (Besides, right now PC already has the best version of Bloodborne via alternate means, it's full of graphical improvements and has tons of mods - a modern Remaster il all but the official name.)

From software blocked any PS5 version from coming out.

@Rich33 If they had never made that Bungie mistake we would still have Bluepoint.

@LogicStrikesAgain I just mean when they get a pretty good/unique IP it tends to disappear. Which i know is more because no one really buys them, which is a shame. And then will proceed to complain about getting the same stuff over and over

@SMJ I still dont see it as random. Maybe you’re looking for a different word?

I remember a while back when people were discussing who Sony should acquire, many were saying Ember Labs would be a perfect fit.

And the IP might not be huge, but they might also not have paid that much for it. And it would still be a nice addition to their portfolio.

This is all speculation of course, as there might not even be an acquisition at all 🤷🏻‍♂️