Between the likes of Naughty Dog, Guerrilla Games, and Insomniac, Sony already possesses quite the pedigree of PlayStation studios to churn out major new releases for the PlayStation 5. Only recently, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst confirmed that over 25 games are currently in development at Sony's first-party studios. And some suspect that Sony is looking to add even more studios to the list, if a recently discovered job listing is anything to go by.
First spotted by DualShockers, a job listing on LinkedIn is looking for an HR mergers and acquisitions director to work for the PlayStation brand. Although the advertisement doesn't necessarily mention or confirm anything concrete, the job title seems to indicate that Sony is considering further acquisitions.
If it is, it's most likely in response to Microsoft. Aside from the Xbox company acquiring Zenimax, and thus Bethesda and its library of IPs (Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein etc.), Microsoft has made it abundantly clear that it is always on the hunt for even more studios to buy out and contribute to Microsoft's first-party offerings. Even before Bethesda, it had snapped up Obsidian Entertainment (The Outer Worlds, Grounded) and Playground Games (which is developing the new Fable).
But about a month after the Microsoft/Bethesda news broke, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan appeared to criticize Microsoft's strategy of spending large amounts of money to obtain studios. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Ryan had this to say about how PlayStation's studios have grown:
"I would just invite anybody to look at the launch window line-up of the PS4 generation, or PS3 generation, and compare it to what we are going to bring in the equivalent phase of PS5. There's just no comparison. That is the fruit of not massive spending sprees, but of very, very steadily, carefully planned organic growth."
As for which studios Sony could potentially buy, that's anyone's guess. Shortly after the Microsoft/Bethesda announcement, many fans suggested that Sony buy out Konami, specifically for franchises like Metal Gear, Silent Hill, and Castlevania, since many feel these have been thoroughly neglected by Konami in recent years. This seems rather unlikely, though, as Konami is arguably too big for Sony to buy out. Despite the criticisms lobbied against it, it remains a very profitable company thanks to its other businesses.
Sony would most likely focus on acquiring studios it has very close working relationships with. Before it bought Insomniac, the studio had already contributed PlayStation exclusives like the Ratchet & Clank series and the Resistance series. One possible example could be Housemarque, which is not only responsible for the recent PS5 hit Returnal, but already has a history of making PlayStation exclusive games published by Sony, such as 2016's Alienation and 2017's Matterfall. Regardless, these kinds of acquisitions don't happen overnight so don't expect Sony to make any surprise announcements any time soon.
Source: LinkedIn, DualShockers, GamesIndustry.biz