Why Sony Bought Insomniac Games: “We Felt That This Was The Time To Formalize The Relationship”

During Gamescom, Sony announced their purchase of Insomniac Games, bringing the developer of Marvel’s Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank into the Sony family. The deal makes a lot of sense, as the developer has worked on numerous Sony exclusives in the past, and according to Sony games chairman Shawn Layden it was a matter of Sony wanting to recognize the studio’s value to PlayStation.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Layden dug into why Sony bought the studio. Insomniac Games has mostly worked with Sony on numerous past exclusives, but has remained independent, releasing the multiplatform Fuse in 2013 the Xbox One exclusive Sunset Overdrive in 2014, among other titles that weren’t PlayStation exclusives. According to Layden, Sony decided that Insomniac Games is the “perfect fit” for their worldwide studios, saying that they “bring quality and innovation, the two things that we lean into every time and all the time.”

The success of Marvel’s Spider-Man, which we gave a 9/10 in our review last year, was just one example of how strong the studio is, Layden said. “There are just a clutch of studios in that independent sphere who are at an accomplishment level of something like Insomniac. They are a very rare bird and we felt that this was the time to formalize the relationship.”

Furthermore, Insomniac Games is a good fit for Sony’s commitment to story-driven games. “An acquisition of a studio of that caliber and size was really a way for us to continue our strength in innovation and quality with a heavy leaning towards the power of narrative, the power of storytelling”, Layden explained. “We want to create a place where game developers can bring their vision to life and tell stories that impact the emotions and interests of our gamers. Insomniac fits perfectly into the division that we created at Worldwide Studios here, leaning into first and best.”

Insomniac Games is now one of 14 studios owned by Sony, including Media Molecule, Bend Studio, Guerrilla Games and Santa Monica Studio.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-sony-bought-insomniac-games-we-felt-that-this-/1100-6469237/