PlayStation Home Dev Goes Independent

Another Sony-owned studio has spun off from the PlayStation gaming giant.

PlayStation Home developer Loot Entertainment, which created virtual goods for Sony's PlayStation 3 online hub PlayStation Home from 2009 until its closure this year, now describes itself as an independent game publisher. The company has also changed its namely to Loot Interactive effective immediately.

Loot's spinoff from Sony follows a similar move from a bigger studio, Sony Online Entertainment, earlier this year. That developer, behind franchises like EverQuest, PlanetSide 2, and H1Z1, is now known as Daybreak Game Company.

“This has been a long time coming, but Loot Interactive is finally ready to declare its independence as an indie game publisher," co-founder and managing director David Sterling said. "We're ready to kick off E3 with a strong showing of launch games to set the stage for a very aggressive release schedule of fantastic new indie titles through 2015… and beyond!"

As this VentureBeat story explains, Loot was never really part of Sony Computer Entertainment to begin with. Instead, the company existed under Sony's Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC) division.

Loot will bring at least three games to E3 this summer, including Whispering Willows, Back to Bed, and Velocibox. These titles will be playable at E3's IndieCade Showcase. Although Loot is now independent, these three new games are in development for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. They are all scheduled to launch this summer.

For more on each game, check out the official descriptions and some images below, courtesy of Loot.

• Whispering Willows -- Developed by NightLight Interactive, this beautiful 2D adventure game tells a horror-themed tale from the perspective of a female protagonist with hand-painted artwork and a haunting soundtrack;

• Back to Bed -- Developed by Bedtime Digital Games, this whimsical puzzle game tasks players with guiding a sleepwalker safely home through a surreal dream world inspired by the artwork of M.C. Escher, Salvador Dali, and René Magritte;

• Velocibox -- Developed by Shawn Beck Games, this unforgivingly tough endless runner game challenges players to safely guide a speeding box through an increasingly diabolical obstacle course