PlayStation acquires Firewalk Studios as release of live service multiplayer project inches closer

PlayStation Studios has announced the acquisition of Firewalk Studios, a game development company that is currently working on a AAA live service game for Sony’s popular console. A publishing partnership between both parties “for a new, original multiplayer IP” had initially been revealed back in 2021 and this latest agreement now presents a huge step forward in PlayStation’s efforts to increase their share in the live service market.

Firewalk Studios, which was formed in 2018, is composed of several Bungie veterans including studio head Tony Hsu and game director Ryan Ellis. Hsu was previously the general manager and senior vice president of Destiny at Activision while Ellis was originally the creative director.

Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst has stated that the development team is “already hard at work on their first original AAA multiplayer game” for the company so it may only be a matter of time until more information is revealed about this upcoming project. With the deal now solidified, though, this next creation will most likely not be the last live service effort for Firewalk Studios under PlayStation.

As part of PlayStation Studios’ official announcement blog post, Tony Hsu and Ryan Ellis similarly shared a statement regarding the acquisition. In it, they say that “the excitement of building something new for players has thoroughly energized the team” and that they’ve also “been playtesting every day.” They would then mention that this was the “next natural step” in their relationship with Sony as the developers have “worked closely with Hermen and the very talented team at PlayStation for years.”

With PlayStation Studios now having acquired Bungie, Haven Software, and Firewalk Studios, it seems that the Japanese video game giants are dead set on taking the live service genre by storm with their next few projects. Although it remains to be seen what the themes of these games are going to be, they will surely be intriguing creations that will immediately grab people’s attentions.

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