Company:PlayStation Studios

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PlayStation Studios
Formerly
  • SCE Worldwide Studios (2005–2016)
  • SIE Worldwide Studios (2016–2020)
TypeDivision
IndustryVideo games
FoundedSeptember 1, 2005; 20 years ago (2005-09-01)
Headquarters
San Mateo, California
London, England
Tokyo, Japan
Key people
  • Hermen Hulst (head of PlayStation Studios)
  • Scott Rohde (head of internal production)
  • John Rostron (head of external production)
Number of employees
≈4,000[1] (2022)
ParentSony Interactive Entertainment
SubsidiariesSee § Studios
Websiteplaystation.com/en-us/corporate/playstation-studios/

PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios) is a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was established as SCE Worldwide Studios in September 2005 and rebranded as PlayStation Studios in 2020 to include the PlayStation brand.

History

On September 14, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE, now known as Sony Interactive Entertainment), the video game arm of Sony, announced the formation of SCE Worldwide Studios earlier that month, combining all studios SCE owned at the time. Phil Harrison was appointed as the division's president;[2] he resigned in February 2008.[3] Kazuo Hirai became acting president,[4] succeeded by Shuhei Yoshida in May 2008.[5] When Yoshida moved to lead the indie game development of SIE, Hermen Hulst, previously of SIE's Guerrilla Games studio, became the president of SIE Worldwide Studios in November 2019.[6] The studios productions are generally supported by the Visual Arts Services Group, founded in 2007 in San Diego.[7]

SIE announced the rebranding of the division to PlayStation Studios in May 2020 as part of the introduction of the PlayStation 5, which was released later that year. PlayStation Studios serves as the publishing brand for Sony's first-party development studios, as well as for games developed by studios brought in by Sony in work-for-hire situations.[8]

In 2022, Sony stated half of its first-party PlayStation Studios games will be on personal computers (PC) and mobile by 2025.[9] In August 2022, SIE announced the formation of the PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, alongside the acquisition of the company's first mobile development team, Savage Game Studios,[10] later renamed Neon Koi.[11] In February 2024, Sony announced it would eliminate 900 jobs, or 8% of SIE and PlayStation Studios employees. These cuts included the closure of London Studio.[12][13]

In July 2024, Sony and Bungie announced that as part of restructuring at Bungie, one of the studio's incubation projects would be spun out, with the team behind the game forming a new studio within PlayStation Studios, later on in May 2025 it being revealed as teamLFG.[14][15] In October 2024, Sony announced the closure of Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.[16][17] In March 2025, Sony formed Dark Outlaw Games, a new studio under PlayStation Studios, led by Jason Blundell.[18] In an August 2025 financial briefing, Sony CFO Lin Tao stated that SIE planned to fully integrate and oversee Bungie as a developer within the core PlayStation Studios lineup, after initially allowing them to function as an independent subsidiary since their acquisition in 2022.[19]

Studios

Name Location/s Founded Acquired Notable releases
Bend Studio Bend, Oregon 1993[20] 2000[20] Syphon Filter, Software:Resistance: Retribution, Software:Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Days Gone[20]
Bluepoint Games Austin, Texas 2006[21] 2021[22] Software:Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Shadow of the Colossus, Demon's Souls[20]
Dark Outlaw Games Los Angeles, California 2025[18] — —
Firesprite Liverpool 2012[23] 2021[24] Run Sackboy! Run!, Horizon Call of the Mountain[20]
Guerrilla Games Amsterdam 2000[20] 2005[20] Killzone, Horizon[20]
Haven Studios Montreal, Quebec 2021[25] 2022[25] Fairgame$[26]
Housemarque Helsinki 2021[27] Super Stardust HD, Dead Nation, Resogun, Alienation, Matterfall, Returnal, Saros[20]
Insomniac Games Burbank, California 1994[20] 2019[28] Spyro, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance, Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Wolverine[20]
Durham, North Carolina[29]
Malaysia Studio Kuala Lumpur 2020[30] — Support for first-party titles, such as The Last of Us Part I and MLB The Show 22[31]
Media Molecule Guildford 2006[20] 2010[20] LittleBigPlanet, Tearaway, Dreams[20]
Naughty Dog Santa Monica, California 1984[20] 2001[20] Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, Uncharted, The Last of Us, Software:Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet[20]
Nixxes Software Utrecht 1999[20] 2021[32] Windows ports and support work for various first-party PlayStation titles; Xbox Series X/S port of Helldivers 2[33][34][35]
Polyphony Digital Tokyo 1998[20] — Gran Turismo, Motor Toon Grand Prix, Omega Boost, Tourist Trophy[20]
San Diego Studio San Diego, California 2001[20] — The Mark of Kri, NBA, MLB: The Show[20]
San Mateo Studio San Mateo, California 1998[36] — Support studio for second-party developers[37]
Santa Monica Studio Los Angeles, California 1999[20] — Kinetica, God of War[20]
Sucker Punch Productions Bellevue, Washington 1997[20] 2011[20] Sly Cooper, Infamous, Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yōtei[20]
Team Asobi Tokyo 2021[lower-alpha 1] — The Playroom, Astro Bot[39]
teamLFG Bellevue, Washington 2025[40] — —
Valkyrie Entertainment Seattle, Washington 2002[41] 2021[41] Support studio for various franchises such as Infamous, God of War, and Twisted Metal[20]
XDev Liverpool 2000[42] — Works with external developers across Europe, on projects such as Until Dawn, Software:Detroit: Become Human and Saros[43]
Tokyo 2020[44] Works with external developers across Japan and South Korea, on projects such as Rise of the Ronin, Stellar Blade, Software:Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls[42][45]

Former

Name Location Founded Acquired Divested Fate
Bigbig Studios Leamington Spa 2001[46] 2007[47] 2012[46] Closed[46]
Evolution Studios Runcorn 1999[47] 2007[47] 2016[48] Closed[48]
Firewalk Studios Bellevue, Washington 2018[49] 2023[49] 2024[50] Closed[50]
Guerrilla Cambridge Cambridge 1997[51] — 2017[51] Closed[51]
Incognito Entertainment Salt Lake City, Utah 1999[52] 2002[52] 2009[53] Closed[53]
Japan Studio Tokyo 2005[54] — 2021[55] Reorganized within SIE, primarily to Team Asobi[38]
London Studio London 2002[20] — 2024 Closed[13]
Manchester Studio Manchester 2015[20] — 2020[56] Closed[56]
Neon Koi Berlin 2020[10] 2022[10] 2024[50] Closed[50]
Helsinki
Pixelopus San Mateo, California 2014[20] — 2023 Closed[57]
Studio Liverpool Liverpool 1984[47] 1993[47] 2012[58] Closed[58]
Zipper Interactive Redmond, Washington 1995[59] 2006[47] 2012[59] Closed[59]

See also

  • Bungie
  • PlayStation Productions

Notes

  1. ↑ Team Asobi was first established in 2012 as an internal team of Japan Studio, and was spun off as its own independent studio in 2021.[38]

References

  1. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (October 4, 2022). "PlayStation to broaden line-up, but won't abandon roots, studio chief says". Axios. https://www.axios.com/2022/10/04/playstation-hermen-hulst-pc-mobile-interview. Retrieved October 4, 2022. 
  2. ↑ Choi, Daniel (September 14, 2005). "Phil Harrison to head up SCE Worldwide Studios for Sony". Joystiq. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080517080930/https://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/16/sony-finds-harrisons-replacement-in-shuhei-yoshida. Retrieved August 30, 2022. 
  3. ↑ Yoon, Andrew (February 25, 2008). "Phil Harrison leaves Sony Computer Entertainment, Kaz Hirai takes place". Joystiq. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150128061228/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/25/phil-harrison-leaves-sony-computer-entertainment-kaz-hirai-take/. Retrieved January 23, 2025. 
  4. ↑ Yoon, Andrew (May 15, 2008). "SCE Worldwide Studios gets new president". Joystiq. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150128063101/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/15/sce-worldwide-studios-gets-new-president/. Retrieved January 23, 2025. 
  5. ↑ Dobson, Jason (May 16, 2008). "Sony finds Harrison's replacement in Shuhei Yoshida". Joystiq. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080517080930/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/16/sony-finds-harrisons-replacement-in-shuhei-yoshida/. Retrieved August 30, 2022. 
  6. ↑ Favis, Elise (November 7, 2019). "Sony appoints Guerrilla Games' Hermen Hulst new head of PlayStation worldwide studios". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2019/11/07/sony-appoints-guerrilla-games-hermen-hulst-new-head-playstation-worldwide-studios/. 
  7. ↑ Scullion, Chris (26 October 2022). "Sony is building a new dev team to work with Visual Arts and Naughty Dog on a 'AAA' title". https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-is-building-a-new-dev-team-to-work-with-visual-arts-and-naughty-dog-on-a-aaa-title/. 
  8. ↑ Dring, Christopher (May 12, 2020). "Sony unveils PlayStation Studios brand to launch alongside PS5". GamesIndustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-05-12-sony-unveils-playstation-studios-brand-to-launch-alongside-ps5. 
  9. ↑ Bonthuys, Darryn (May 26, 2022). "Half Of PlayStation Releases Will Be On PC And Mobile By 2025, Sony Says" (in en-US). https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-of-playstation-releases-will-be-on-pc-and-mobile-by-2025-sony-says/1100-6503877/. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Good, Owen S. (August 29, 2022). "Sony spins up PlayStation Mobile division, plans major push to phones". Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/23326796/playstation-mobile-sony-buys-savage-game-studios. Retrieved August 30, 2022. 
  11. ↑ Tailby, Stephen (2023-11-21). "PlayStation's Mobile Games Studio Rebrands Following Multiple Departures". https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/11/playstations-mobile-games-studio-rebrands-following-multiple-departures. 
  12. ↑ Gerken, Tom (2024-02-27). "PlayStation to axe 900 jobs and close London studio" (in en-GB). https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68404704. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 21, 2024). "PlayStation London Studio Issues Heartfelt Goodbye After Sony Studio Closure". IGN. Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-london-studio-issues-heartfelt-goodbye-after-sony-studio-closure. Retrieved May 22, 2024. 
  14. ↑ "Destiny 2 dev Bungie laying off 220 devs and handing new game to Sony". 31 July 2024. https://www.pcgamesn.com/destiny-2/layoffs-sie-integration. 
  15. ↑ "The New Path for Bungie" (Press release). 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  16. ↑ Communications, S. I. E. (2024-10-29). "An Update from PlayStation Studios" (in en-US). https://sonyinteractive.com/en/news/blog/an-update-from-playstation-studios/. 
  17. ↑ Blake, Vikki (2024-10-29). "Sony shuts Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios" (in en). https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sony-shuts-neon-koi-and-firewalk-studios. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Middler, Jordan (March 17, 2025). "PlayStation has formed new studio Dark Outlaw Games with Call of Duty Zombies lead Jason Blundell". https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-has-formed-new-studio-dark-outlaw-games-with-call-of-duty-zombies-lead-jason-blundell/. 
  19. ↑ Chalk, Andy (2025-08-07). "Sony has seen enough: 3 years after acquiring Bungie, Sony says the days of independence are 'getting lighter' and its future 'is to become part of PlayStation Studios'" (in en). PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/sony-has-seen-enough-3-years-after-acquiring-bungie-sony-says-the-days-of-independence-are-over-and-its-future-is-to-become-part-of-playstation-studios/. 
  20. ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 20.11 20.12 20.13 20.14 20.15 20.16 20.17 20.18 20.19 20.20 20.21 20.22 20.23 20.24 20.25 20.26 20.27 20.28 20.29 20.30 Barker, Sammy; Tailby, Stephen (October 4, 2024). "PlayStation Studios: All Sony First-Party Developers and What They're Working On". https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/playstation-studios-all-sony-first-party-developers-and-what-theyre-working-on. 
  21. ↑ Dyer, Mitch (January 28, 2014). "Who Is Bluepoint Games?". https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/01/28/who-is-bluepoint-games. 
  22. ↑ Tailby, Stephen (September 30, 2021). "Sony Finally Confirms Acquisition of Demon's Souls PS5 Dev Bluepoint Games". https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/09/sony_finally_confirms_acquisition_of_demons_souls_ps5_dev_bluepoint_games. 
  23. ↑ Scullion, Chris (June 10, 2022). "Sony's Firesprite is moving to an office more than 20 times larger than its current one". Video Games Chronicle. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sonys-firesprite-is-moving-to-an-office-more-than-20-times-bigger-than-its-current-one/. Retrieved August 30, 2022. 
  24. ↑ "Why PlayStation is buying Firesprite, one of the UK's fastest growing studios". September 8, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-08-why-playstation-is-buying-firesprite-one-of-the-uks-fastest-growing-games-studios. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Dring, Christopher (July 11, 2022). "Jade Raymond's Haven Studio is already inspiring other PlayStation studios - and not just with its game". Gamesindustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/jade-raymonds-haven-studio-is-already-inspiring-other-playstation-studios-and-not-just-with-its-game. Retrieved August 30, 2022. 
  26. ↑ "Fairgame$ Is the First Game From Jade Raymond's Haven Studios". 24 May 2023. https://www.ign.com/articles/fairgame-is-the-first-game-from-jade-raymonds-haven-studios. 
  27. ↑ Leedham, Robert (June 29, 2021). "Why PlayStation bought Returnal developer Housemarque: the inside story". https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/housemarque-sony-playstation-acquisition. 
  28. ↑ McAloon, Alissa (February 10, 2020). "Sony's 2019 acquisition of Insomniac Games priced at $229 million". Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/console/sony-s-2019-acquisition-of-insomniac-games-priced-at-229-million. Retrieved August 30, 2022. 
  29. ↑ Remo, Chris (June 4, 2008). "In-Depth: Insomniac Talks New North Carolina Studio". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/in-depth-insomniac-talks-new-north-carolina-studio. 
  30. ↑ "PlayStation to open development studio in Malaysia". November 8, 2019. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/playstation-to-open-malaysian-development-studio. 
  31. ↑ "How PlayStation Studios Malaysia is Playing a Growing Role in Sony's Most Important Franchises". October 13, 2022. https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-malaysia-sony-ps5. 
  32. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (July 1, 2021). "Sony Buys Another Game Studio, Avengers And Rise Of The Tomb Raider's Nixxes Software". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-buys-another-game-studio-avengers-and-rise-of-the-tomb-raiders-nixxes-software/1100-6493477/. Retrieved July 1, 2021. 
  33. ↑ Lyles, Taylor (June 29, 2024). "Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon: Forbidden West Among the First Games Supporting AMS FSR 3.1". IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/ghost-of-tsushima-and-horizon-forbidden-west-among-the-first-games-supporting-amd-fsr-31. 
  34. ↑ Prescott, Shaun (December 13, 2024). "The Last Of Us Part Two Remastered hits PC in April". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20241213032200/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/the-last-of-us-part-two-remastered-hits-pc-in-april/. Retrieved December 13, 2024. 
  35. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2025-07-03). "Sony-Published Helldivers 2 Gets Shock Release Date on Xbox Series X and S" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-published-helldivers-2-gets-shock-release-date-on-xbox-series-x-and-s. 
  36. ↑ Varela, Ramón (January 16, 2020). "PlayStation: Todos sus estudios y los juegos en desarrollo" (in es). https://vandal.elespanol.com/reportaje/playstation-todos-sus-estudios-y-los-juegos-en-desarrollo. 
  37. ↑ Tolbert, Samuel (December 16, 2021). "PlayStation Studios: Everything we know Sony Worldwide Studios is working on in 2021 for PS5". Android Central. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211225134947/https://www.androidcentral.com/everything-sony-worldwide-studios-working. Retrieved January 20, 2022. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 LeBlanc, Wesley (June 2, 2021). "Team Asobi Officially Announced as a PlayStation Studio, Reveals New Logo". https://www.ign.com/articles/team-asobi-official-playstation-studios-dev-new-logo. 
  39. ↑ "Astro Bot Sequel Announced For PS5, Coming September 6". May 30, 2024. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/astro-bot-sequel-announced-for-ps5-coming-september-6/1100-6523821/. 
  40. ↑ "Welcome teamLFG to the PlayStation Studios family". 7 May 2025. https://blog.playstation.com/2025/05/07/welcome-teamlfg-to-the-playstation-studios-family/?sf277193480=1. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Reiner, Andrew (December 10, 2021). "Sony To Acquire Developer Valkyrie Entertainment". Game Informer. https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/12/10/sony-to-acquire-developer-valkyrie-entertainment. Retrieved August 30, 2022. 
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Barker, Sammy (August 28, 2019). "Guide: All Sony First-Party Studios and What They're Working On". http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2019/08/guide_all_sony_first-party_studios_and_what_theyre_working_on. 
  43. ↑ "Saros launches March 20 on PS5, first look at gameplay from today’s State of Play" (in en-US). 2025-09-24. https://blog.playstation.com/2025/09/24/saros-launches-march-20-on-ps5-first-look-at-gameplay-from-todays-state-of-play/. 
  44. ↑ Romano, Sal (April 1, 2020). "Sony Interactive Entertainment JAPAN Studio establishes External Development Department". https://www.gematsu.com/2020/04/sony-interactive-entertainment-japan-studio-establishes-external-development-department. 
  45. ↑ Barker, Sammy (September 19, 2022). "Sony XDEV's Japan Division Assisting with PS5's Rise of the Ronin". Push Square. https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/09/sony-xdevs-japan-division-assisting-with-ps5s-rise-of-the-ronin. Retrieved March 18, 2024. 
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 Yoon, Andrew (January 10, 2012). "Sony shuts down Little Deviants, Pursuit Force dev". https://www.shacknews.com/article/71918/sony-shuts-down-little-deviants-pursuit-force-dev. 
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 "IN DETAIL: Sony's sixteen first-party studios". MCV/Develop. August 2, 2011. https://www.mcvuk.com/development-news/in-detail-sonys-sixteen-first-party-studios/. Retrieved August 30, 2022. 
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Brightman, James (March 22, 2016). "Sony confirms closure of Evolution Studios". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-03-22-sony-confirms-closure-of-evolution-studio. 
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 "PlayStation to acquire AAA multiplayer developer Firewalk Studios". 20 April 2023. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/playstation-to-acquire-aaa-multiplayer-developer-firewalk-studios. 
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3 "An Update from PlayStation Studios". https://sonyinteractive.com/en/news/blog/an-update-from-playstation-studios/. 
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 Frank, Allegra (January 12, 2017). "Sony shuts down 20-year-old studio in European restructuring". https://www.polygon.com/2017/1/12/14251842/guerrilla-cambridge-closed. 
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Cifaldi, Frank (May 13, 2011). "How Moving To Austin Energized Starhawk". https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/how-moving-to-austin-energized-i-starhawk-i-. 
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 Plunkett, Luke (January 16, 2012). "Every Game Studio That's Closed Down Since 2006". https://kotaku.com/every-game-studio-thats-closed-down-since-2006-5876693. 
  54. ↑ Niizumi, Hirohiko (8 July 2005). "SCE reorg taps Harrison, Yamauchi, Chatani". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sce-reorg-taps-harrison-yamauchi-chatani/1100-6128783/. 
  55. ↑ Robinson, Andy; Calvin, Alex (February 25, 2021). "Sources: PlayStation is winding down Sony Japan Studio". Video Games Chronicle. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sources-playstation-is-winding-down-sony-japan-studio/. Retrieved June 30, 2021. 
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Dring, Christopher (February 4, 2020). "PlayStation to close Manchester VR studio". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-02-04-playstation-to-close-manchester-vr-studio. 
  57. ↑ "Concrete Genie Developer PixelOpus Is Shutting Down". May 5, 2023. https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/05/concrete-genie-developer-pixelopus-is-shutting-down. 
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Yin-Poole, Wesley (July 21, 2015). "WipEout: The rise and fall of Sony Studio Liverpool". https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-22-wipeout-the-rise-and-fall-of-sony-studio-liverpool. 
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 59.2 Moriarty, Colin (March 31, 2012). "Confirmed: Sony Closes Zipper Interactive". https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/30/confirmed-sony-closes-zipper-interactive. 



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