PlayStation Creates Mobile Division with Acquisition of Savage

By Avery Bissett | September 2, 2022

PlayStation announced Monday that it will be acquiring mobile outfit Savage Game Studios for an undisclosed figure. The company will be the first to join PlayStation’s new Mobile Division. Coming off the heels of PlayStation’s recent reveal of an iPhone controller, it’s clear that Sony is laying the groundwork for a less console-centric future.

Maiden Voyage
Savage has yet to release a title, but “is already working on a new unannounced AAA mobile live service action game,” said Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios.

  • Savage was founded in 2020 by industry veterans from Rockstar, Wargaming, Rovio, & other European devs
    • Lots of experience in live service and free-to-play games
  • Only 11-50 employees currently, according to company’s LinkedIn
    • Savage raised $4.4 million last January for a mobile shooter
    • Job openings suggest game will use Unreal Engine 4
Comforting Console Gamers?
“As we assured you before with our plans to bring select titles to PC, our efforts beyond console in no way diminish our commitment to the PlayStation community, nor our passion to keep making amazing single-player, narrative-driven experiences.”
Perhaps PlayStation is trying to get ahead of any criticism, but such a seemingly earnest - and unsolicited – promise is odd. It reads as if to soothe stakeholders not fully onboard with Sony’s pivot away from a console-centric strategy, rather PlayStation gamers themselves.And if promises in the video game industry are any indicator, PlayStation saying it’s as ever-devoted to “single-player, narrative-driven experiences” likely means those kinds of games (read: games you can only sell once) will be less important in the future.

Dipping Its Toes In the Deep End
PlayStation has its work cut out breaking into the very crowded mobile market and competing with more experienced, larger players like Take-Two’s Zynga or Activision-Blizzard’s King Games. It’s not diving in with a title ready to go, instead betting on a more affordable start-up. If there is a silver lining though,  it’s that PlayStation's studios have a strong track record and massive, untapped library of IP to leverage. 

Feature Image Source: PlayStation
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