Jim Ryan, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, has promised that the company will continue to acquire more studios in the future after a big spending spree in 2021. Sony acquired five studios in 2021 and so far in 2022 announced deals to buy Destiny 2 developer Bungie and Jade Raymond’s Haven Studios.
In an appearance on the latest PlayStation podcast, Ryan said one of the ways PlayStation is growing its business is through buyouts, and fans can expect that to continue. “We grow through acquisitions. We have acquired five studios over the course of 2021. We are in talks with Bungie. And we have more planned,” Ryan said.
Ryan made the announcement during a broader commentary on why Sony’s new version of PlayStation Plus won’t add new releases on day one like Xbox Game Pass does. As he said earlier this week, Ryan explained that Sony won’t be putting any new releases on a subscription service on day one because investing in games and studios creates a “virtuous circle” where success breeds success.
Sony wants to make games that are bigger, better, and with better narratives, and Ryan said sticking with the traditional paid model is one way to keep that cycle intact going forward.
“Putting these games on a subscription service as soon as they are released would break this virtuous cycle. And we could not invest in the way we are currently able to. And that’s why we don’t do it,” he said. “We’re going to stick with our approach that has served us well over many years. And the approach that we believe has served our players well.”
In 2021, Sony bought Valkyrie Entertainment, Housemarque, Bluepoint, Firesprite and Nixxes. Also in 2021, Sony invested another $200 million in Fortnite studio Epic Games.
While Sony’s new PS Plus program will not feature any new releases on day one, members will have access to a catalog of PS4 and PS5 games, as well as a library of classic titles to be announced later. For more on the new PS Plus, see GameSpot’s overview and how it compares to Xbox Game Pass.