Sony PlayStation has acquired UK developer Firesprite. This is Sony’s third studio acquisition in the same year. Sony has also acquired Returnal developer Housemarque and PC port specialist Nixxes Software this year.
Hermen Hulst, Head of PS Studios, announced that the developer of “The Persistence” & “The Playroom” is now a Sony studio. With this acquisition, Firesprite becomes the 14th member of the PlayStation Studios group and the third acquisition this year alone.
“Quite a few members of Firesprite come from SIE’s Studio Liverpool and we’re thrilled to welcome them back,” Hermen said in a blog post.
Developers of previously shuttered Sony Interactive Entertainment Studio Liverpool moved to Firesprite. So, they are now officially back at Sony, like some kind of homecoming.
“I think you’ll be excited for what’s to come”
– Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios
“Firesprite is a creative and ambitious studio that is exceptional at building incredible experiences that truly showcase the potential of our hardware,” Hulst said. “The team’s technical and creative capabilities will be paramount to growing our stellar catalogue of exclusive games, and I think you’ll be excited for what’s to come,” Hulst further added.
Words from Firesprite Managing Director
Today is an incredibly exciting day for Firesprite as we join PlayStation Studios with the backing of Hermen and the entire PlayStation Family. We are very much looking forward to the next part of our journey!
We’ve had the pleasure of working with many talented developers and publishers across the industry and PlayStation in particular has been a friend and co-development partner for the best part of a decade.
PlayStation also gave us the opportunity to create our own IP, The Persistence, and we were given the creative freedom to explore, innovate, and release a survival horror game we are immensely proud of. Now, as a first-party studio, we know we have the full support of PlayStation in furthering our heritage of combining creativity and technical innovation to offer some truly unique experiences for PlayStation fans.
We can’t wait to show you what we have been working on……we’re just getting started!
– Graeme Ankers, Managing Director of Firesprite, said in an announcement post.
PlayStation Showcase 2021
The announcement of the Firesprite acquisition came just one day before Sony’s big PlayStation 5 games showcase event. PlayStation Showcase 2021 broadcasts on Thursday, September 9 1:00pm Pacific Time / 9:00pm BST / 10:00pm CEST.
Sony says it weighs a 40-min broadcast that features games and updates from PlayStation Studios. As Firesprite is now one of the PlayStation studios, we may see some exciting announcements from it.
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