Microsoft have been working overtime over the last year to address what’s been their most lacking and problematic area for years now- their first party lineup. Having acquired eight new studios over the last few months – including the likes of Double Fine Productions, Obsidian Entertainment, and Ninja Theory – and not showing signs of stopping, they’ve bolstered their lineup of studios considerably, to put themselves in a position where they can properly compete with the excellent list of studios and exclusives that Sony and PlayStation have at their disposal (let’s not even get started on Nintendo).
But though Sony themselves are and have been in a secure position – first party studios-wise – for a number of years, they’re not resting on their laurels. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has confirmed in an interview with Nikkei that Sony is currently looking into mergers and acquisitions with game development studios. Ryan specifically mentions the rise of competitors like Google in the market, with their upcoming streaming service Stadia, and feels that content is now going to become more important than ever.
I doubt anyone would say that Sony’s drive for exclusive first party content on PlayStation has been lacking, but hey- the more the merrier. Sony’s president recently claimed that they’ll be looking to cater to the hardcore gaming audiences with the PS5, for which they’ll be doubling down on exclusive content, so this definitely falls in line with that.