Highlights
- Sony now has 21 major first-party development studios, promising a bright future for PlayStation 5 owners.
- Some of Sony's studios are well-known, while others operate more under the radar.
- Each studio is working on different projects, from new IPs to sequels, providing a diverse range of games for players to look forward to.
Following Sony's acquisition of Firewalk Studios in early 2023, the Japanese giant now boasts 21 major first-party development studios, most of which have a strong track record for delivering high-quality games and ports. With this in mind, the future is looking bright for both the PlayStation 5 and those who've been lucky enough to get their hands on one of Sony's ninth-gen consoles.
While it can be easy to keep track of what some of Sony's larger studios are working on though, the inner workings of others are not quite as well-publicized. Those hoping to find out what all of Sony's first-party studios are currently developing will therefore need to do a little digging. Well, either that or check out the carefully curated compilation of news and rumors down below.
Updated August 11, 2023, by Tom Bowen: With each passing month comes a wave of new rumors, not to mention the occasional new acquisition. In the past year or so the PlayStation Studios family has continued to grow in size, with three more big acquisitions announced by Sony. For those looking for a list of every major Sony-owned game studio or anyone hoping to get a better idea of what all of the main first-party PlayStation studios are currently working on, the following article should prove to be helpful.
Bend Studio
Bend Studio spent a good chunk of the last few decades working exclusively on PSP and PS Vita titles, but returned to home console duties a few years ago with the popular survival game, Days Gone. Sadly, the studio's next big project won't be a sequel despite a petition for one garnering more than 150,000 signees. Instead, Bend Studio is working on a new IP that builds upon the open-world systems first introduced in Days Gone. Job listings seem to suggest that it will be a multiplayer game.
Bluepoint Games
Prior to getting snapped up by Sony in late 2021, Bluepoint Games had made quite a name for itself as one of the best studios for HD remasters and remakes around. Since the acquisition, however, there has been no official news regarding Bluepoint Games' next project.
Bungie
Bungie is one of the latest studios to join the Sony family, with news of the acquisition breaking in early 2022. For the immediate future, however, Bungie will continue working on Destiny 2, with the Final Shape expansion expected to launch at some point in 2024. The studio is also working on a new Marathon title, which, like Destiny 2, seems destined to be another live service game.
Firesprite
The Japanese developer has typically worked as a support studio, providing the finishing touches on several of Sony's best first-party titles. After finishing work on Horizon Call of the Mountain, there's been no solid news on what the studio would be working on for Sony next, though the team is known to be co-developing Star Citizen: Theaters of War alongside Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium.
Firewalk Studios
Sony first began working with Firewalk back in early 2021 when a deal was struck to bring the studio's first AAA project Concord over to the PS5. A few years later, Sony struck a deal to acquire Firewalk Studios from American game company ProbablyMonsters, while also announcing that Bungie and Haven Studios would be helping out with the development of Concord, which is slated for release at some point in 2024.
Guerrilla Games
Following the huge success of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, it came as no surprise when news of a third Horizon game first began circulating in April of 2023. In addition to this, the studio is known to be working on a new multiplayer Horizon game, though leaked footage of the title from early 2023 suggests that the project may still be several years away.
Haven Studios
Haven Studios was acquired by Sony in early 2022 and is currently working on a new AAA multiplayer title known as Fairgame$. Members of the team are also thought to be working with Firewalk Studios to assist with the development of Concord; another multiplayer title.
Housemarque
Housemarque is one of the more recent studios to have been snapped up by Sony following the huge success of the developer's 2021 PS5-exclusive, Returnal. Since the acquisition, things have been a little quiet, though rumors suggest that the studio's next project will be based on a new IP, which would seemingly dash any hopes of fans getting a Returnal sequel anytime soon.
Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games and Sony always had a strong relationship, but it wasn't until 2018 that the Japanese Giant proposed making things exclusive. Since then, the developer has released several of the best PlayStation exclusives of all time, including Marvel's Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Insomniac Games is currently working on Marvel's Spider-Man 2 as well as a game based on Wolverine. The former is slated for an October 2023 release, but there's still no word on when exactly Marvel's Wolverine might drop.
London Studio
Sony's London Studio released some huge titles back in the day but hasn't done all that much over the past decade save for a few PSVR games. That could all be about to change though, with the studio currently working on a cooperative multiplayer game set in a fantasy version of London. Details about the project are scarce at the moment, but according to Studio Head Tara Saunders, it will be the developer's most ambitious project to date.
Media Molecule
Media Molecule is one of Sony's most innovative and ambitious studios, as evidenced by its 2020 game creator title, Dreams. In April of 2023, the team announced that support for Dreams would be ending the following September and that work on a new project had already begun.
Naughty Dog
Known mainly for its work on the Uncharted and The Last of Us franchises, Naughty Dog is one of the three main jewels in the PlayStation crown (the others being Insomniac Games and Santa Monica Studio). In early 2022, the developer's co-president Neil Druckmann put out a cryptic tweet suggesting that three new games were currently in the works. One of these was presumably The Last of Us Part 1, with the studio also known to be working on The Last of Us 2 Factions. The final project appears to be a brand-new fantasy IP, though there's also been talk of a Last of Us Part 2 remake.
Nixxes Software
Nixxes Software specializes in porting console games to PC, which is something that Sony has been doing more and more of these days. Since joining the PlayStation family in mid-2021, Nixxes has helped out with the PC ports of Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and, according to Lead Engineer Coen Frauenfelder, is now also working on remastering classic Sony games.
Polyphony Digital
Based out of Japan, Sony's Polyphony Digital studio continues to work on updates for Gran Turismo 7, which was released in March of 2022. The game features more than 400 cars, making it one of the largest games in the series to date and, thanks to its fantastic VR support, one of the very best.
San Diego Studio
Sony's San Diego Studio works almost exclusively on the MLB: The Show series these days, though does occasionally dabble with other projects. Predictably, San Diego Studio is currently working on MLB: The Show 24, which is scheduled to release across multiple platforms in March of 2024.
Santa Monica Studio
Following the release of God of War Ragnarok in late 2022, things have been a little quiet with regard to Santa Monica Studio's next big project. Job listings suggest that work has already begun on a new unannounced title, with certain details pointing toward yet another God of War game.
Savage Game Studios
Sony struck a deal to acquire Savage Game Studios in mid-2022. Along with the announcement came news that PlayStation Studios would be moving into the mobile market and that Savage is currently working on an unannounced AAA mobile live-service action game. In May of the following year, it was revealed that Savage is just one of many internal studios currently working on mobile titles.
Sucker Punch Productions
Following the hugely successful release of Ghost of Tsushima, there have been plenty of rumors suggesting that Sucker Punch Studios could be working on a Sly Cooper reboot or a Ghost of Tsushima sequel. As of the moment, however, the official line is that the Sucker Punch team is continuing its work on Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, which serves as the game's online multiplayer component.
Team Asobi
Another of Sony's Japanese development studios, Team Asobi is best known for its work on the Playroom series. Job listings suggest that Team Asobi's next release will be an ambitious 3D action-adventure game, with many speculating that it will be a follow-up of some kind to the PS5 tech demo, Astro's Playroom. In a 2022 interview, creative and studio director Nicolas Doucet revealed that the studio's next project would be its biggest to date.
Valkyrie Entertainment
Valkyrie Entertainment has traditionally worked as a support studio, with its most notable projects being God of War (2018) and its 2022 sequel, God of War Ragnarok. After work on the latter had concluded, it emerged that Valkyrie Entertainment is working on an unannounced strategy game; the studio's first solo project since being acquired by Sony in late 2021.
XDev
XDev has a history of collaborating with both internal and external development studios, having most famously done so in 2021 during the development of Returnal. According to reports, XDev is currently working with third-party studios on projects like Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin.