The Head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst has shed some light on the company’s expansion plans, sharing particular insight into PlayStation plans to grow their mobile and PC presence. An expansive interview with Reuters served as the platform for Hulst to discuss the console manufacturer’s recent investment in Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, Destiny developer Bungie, and beyond that, PlayStation Productions’ developments in film and television.
One of the more pressing topics for PlayStation currently, and one that has provided to be controversial amongst players, has been the publisher’s recent penchant for releasing games on PC. Recently we’ve seen the launches Marvel’s Spider-Man, God Of War 2018, and we stand less than a month away from the launch of PS5 launch title, Sackboy: A Big Adventure on the platform. Hulst speaks of how further investments in not only PC, but also mobile and live service will help grow the reach of the PlayStation brand, saying,
Further investments in areas that will strengthen the expansion on to PC, on to mobile and into live services, that’s definitely a possibility for us
As well as the investments in other platforms, Sony has been on the aggressive, picking up studios like Bungie, and investing heavily in the future of others, like FromSoftware. In this regard, Hulst proclaimed,
You should think of collaborations on the game development side first and foremost, but it’s also not unthinkable with our PlayStation Productions efforts that we explore opportunities,
Considering PlayStation’s recent output in film and television, from the very profitable Uncharted film, to coming series including HBO’s The Last Of Us, a rumoured Horizon 2047, Twisted Metal and God Of War show, and also the upcoming Gran Turismo film, it seems based upon Hulst’s comments that they’re prepared to invest in studios, not just to have some ownership or influence over their game output, but to also assist in the silver screen or episodic representation of their works.
The investments in non-traditional areas will inevitably continue into the future. Fans continue to speculate about PlayStation chasing a big publisher, similar to what Xbox has done acquiring Bethesda, and (if successful) Activision Blizzard King, and Japanese publishers like Square-Enix, especially given the pair’s recently strengthened relationship that’s led to exclusives like Valkyrie Elysium, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and Forspoken. Another space that PlayStation looks set to expand further into is the realm of VR. PlayStation VR2 is on track to launch in early 2023, and Hulst discussed their intent to develop “bespoke” titles for the platform.
“Horizon Forbidden West [may be] an open world and that’s not necessarily very suitable to a PSVR2 game,” but Hulst spoke of how they’ve got bespoke titles like Horizon Call Of The Mountain on the way for the platform.
