In what is easily today's biggest surprise, developer Insomniac Games announced they are joining Sony PlayStation's Wordwide Studios family.
Details regarding Sony's acquisition of the fan-favorite developer weren't revealed, but Insomniac Games CEO and President Ted Price did share some of the reasoning behind the decision to join Sony, which he said feels "more like a homecoming" for the studio.
We’ve collaborated with Sony for more than 20 years — spanning all four PlayStation consoles, 20 total games and six franchises. We still work closely today with many of the same Sony teammates as we did when we released the original Spyro the Dragon in 1998.
The decision to join forces with Sony extends far beyond familiarity. Our studio vision is to create experiences that have a positive and lasting impact on people’s lives. As we look ahead to our future, we know that joining the WWS family gives us the best opportunities to fully achieve that vision on a much larger scale. Further, we believe that Sony shares a similar vision to positively impact players’ lives, their employees’ lives and the games industry at large.
So today merely marks the beginning of a new chapter in our studio’s growth and evolution. We’re excited to put Insomniac in the best position to deliver fresh experiences for our fans for many years to come. Our structure and approach will remain intact across both Burbank and Durham, NC studios, and we will continue to cultivate our unique culture.
It’s been a crazy ride for sure. Now, we’re ready for the next phase of our journey, and can’t wait to explore new worlds with our Sony family and loyal fans.
As Price mentioned, Insomniac has long been a part of the PlayStation family, even if not officially owned by Sony. The studio is responsible for many of PlayStation's popular exclusive franchises, including
Spyro and
Ratchet & Clank, both of which debuted on the original PlayStation in the late 90s. Insomniac continued to pump out games for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, though 2014 saw them release their first multiplatform game,
Fuse. In 2014, Insomniac released their first Xbox console exclusive,
Sunset Overdrive. But it wasn't long before they returned home with
Ratchet & Clank for PS4 in 2016. But while their history with PlayStation goes way back, it's what they have done recently that have made them a must-have for Sony.
Insomniac's
Marvel's Spider-Man was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. As of July 2019, it had passed
Batman: Arkham City to become the best-selling superhero game in the United States.
For those who played
Marvel's Spider-Man, already know the game left off with an interesting hook with Miles Morales revealing his powers to Peter Parker. With Sony acquiring Insomniac, it seems almost inevitable that we'll be getting a sequel.