Sony acquires Helsinki-based mobile games startup Savage Game Studios in a push to expand beyond console gaming
Nickie Louise
Posted On August 29, 2022
Sony Group Corp announced on Monday it will acquire Helsinki, Finland-based mobile games tech startup Savage Game Studios as part of a major push to expand beyond console gaming. The total amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
As part of the acquisition agreement, Sony said Savage Game Studios will become part of a new mobile division of PlayStation Studios, a newly created division that will operate independently from our console development and focus on innovative, on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP.
Founded in 2020 by CEO and Co-founder Michail Katkoff, Nadjim Adjir, and Michael McManus, Savage Game Studios was born of our many years of mobile game development experience spanning a number of massively successful global IPs. The startup is currently working on a live service action title for mobile.
In a statement, Katkoff said: “We’ve all worked at big studios and while we respect the advantages of ample resources, we wanted to stay small and nimble so we could call our own shots. “So why then,” you may be thinking to yourself, “would you join PlayStation Studios?”
He added, “We made this deal because we believe that PlayStation Studios’ leadership respects our vision for how we can best operate and succeed, and because they too are not afraid to take chances. All of that, plus the ability to potentially tap into PlayStation’s amazing catalog of IP and the fact that we will benefit from the kind of support that only they can provide… The harder question to answer would be “why not?”
In a blog post on its PlayStation website, Sony said the acquisition is part of the company’s plans to expand beyond consoles and bring select titles to PC. “It’s been a tremendous year for games on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, with huge releases including Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7, MLB The Show 22, and on November 9th, the highly anticipated God of War: Ragnarok,” Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios said.
Hulst continued, “PlayStation Studios must continue to expand and diversify our offering beyond console, bringing incredible new games to more people than ever before.”
The Japanese conglomerate has been struggling in recent years to produce enough PS5 consoles to meet demand amid supply chain snarls and last week announced a price hike in many markets due to pressure from a strengthening dollar.
