PlayStation to Expand Its Portfolio with Acquisition of Firewalk Studios

PlayStation has entered into an agreement to acquire Firewalk Studios, a prominent AAA multiplayer game developer, currently working on a live-service title for the PS5 and PC platforms. This news follows Sony's earlier announcement in April 2021 to publish Firewalk's debut game. The acquisition is PlayStation's third dedicated live-service game studio purchase in the last 18 months, following the acquisitions of Bungie and Haven Studios. Firewalk Studios, established in 2018 under the umbrella of ProbablyMonsters, a collective of AAA game developers, was founded by veterans of Bungie, including Tony Hsu, previously general manager and senior vice president of Destiny at Activision, and Ryan Ellis, formerly creative director at Bungie. The studio now employs nearly 150 people. With this acquisition, Firewalk becomes the 20th developer to join the PlayStation Studios family. Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, "Our teams share the same ambition to create meaningful experiences for gamers. Firewalk's innovative approach to connected storytelling and its commitment to high-quality gameplay continue to exceed our expectations." Tony Hsu, studio head, added, "We've assembled an amazing team at Firewalk Studios, built specifically to bring memorable multiplayer experiences to players worldwide. With the support of SIE and the creative power of the PlayStation Studio ecosystem, we're excited to transform our vision into reality." This move is part of PlayStation's strategy to expand into live-service games, with ten projects currently in development. Jim Ryan, CEO and president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, commented, "Firewalk Studios is led by a world-class team that is highly experienced and deeply passionate about creating exceptional multiplayer games that foster memorable shared experiences." Harold Ryan, CEO of ProbablyMonsters, said, "ProbablyMonsters is incredibly proud of the team and the game we incubated and built over the past few years. Firewalk Studios joining PlayStation Studios is a brilliant move for the team, game, and future players."