Sony establishes a new PlayStation Studios Mobile Division to focus on mobile games

Image: Gettotext

Sony has established its own PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, which will be solely responsible for developing mobile game experiences based on PlayStation franchises.

Sony has officially established a new PlayStation division that will solely focus on mobile games.

Sony announced its new PlayStation Studios Mobile Division today, a division dedicated to releasing—you guessed it—mobile games based on popular PlayStation franchises. The new division will include Savage Game Studios, Sony's most recent studio acquisition, which is working on a "unannounced AAA live service action game." It's worth noting that Savage received funding for a more casual-focused mobile shooter game in 2021.

Hermen Hulst, president of PlayStation Worldwide Studios, promises that mobile games will complement Sony's overall gaming focus. Sony has also conveyed this message to investors: Sony stated in a 2022 presentation that it intends to drive "significant growth of PC and mobile within our portfolio," with mobile accounting for roughly 10% of game releases in FY22. Sony anticipates that mobile will account for 20% of its game releases by 2025.

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan told Axios in 2021 that not expanding PlayStation to mobile would be "perverse": "The thinking here is that our IP portfolio is in such good shape right now that it seems counterintuitive to limit enjoyment to our existing PlayStation community."

"The content created by PlayStation Studios over the last 25 years has resulted in a wealth of IP and immersive experiences that elicit emotions and take players on a journey. We've been thinking about how players interact with our content, and we've had some early success experimenting with mobile games and apps to give gamers more options "Ryan stated this during a May 2021 investor call.

Sony has previously stated that Fate Grand Order developer Lasengle will lead its mobile initiatives, and for good reason: Fate Grand Order has generated over $4 billion since its release.

In a recent PlayStation Blog update, Hulst stated:

"Our mobile gaming efforts will be similarly additive, providing more ways for more people to interact with our content while also attempting to reach new audiences who are unfamiliar with PlayStation and our games. Savage Game Studios will be part of the newly formed PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, which will operate independently from our console development and will focus on innovative, on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP."