PlayStation Acquires Returnal Dev Housemarque

Housemarque, the Finnish developer behind PlayStation 5 title Returnal, has been acquired by PlayStation. In a post on the PlayStation Blog Hermen Hulst, head of Worldwide Studios for Sony Interactive Entertainment, confirmed the acquisition.

"Housemarque's recent release of Returnal proves the studio is one with incredible vision, capable of creating memorable new games that resonate with our community," he said. "This addition enhances the creative force of PlayStation Studios, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Housemarque."

Housemarque has collaborated closely with PlayStation on a number of titles including Super Stardust HD, Dead Nation, and Resogun. Of course, its most recent collaboration, Returnal, gave PlayStation 5 owners a stellar action title to enjoy. The game was the somewhat of a departure from the studio's history of developing arcade-style shmups, which it said were not selling well anymore. Returnal no doubt showed Sony that the studio was capable of leveraging its strengths in new ways.

"Today is a big day for Housemarque and it has been over 26 years in the making," said Ilari Kuittinen, co-founder and managing director of Housemarque. "Our strong partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment started with Super Stardust HD on PS3 and since then we have made arcade-inspired games for all of the PlayStation platforms. With Returnal for PS5, our most recent release, our biggest foray into third-person action gaming solidified our voice and brand in the industry as delivering unique and quality player experiences.

"This gives our studio a clear future and a stable opportunity to continue delivering on gameplay-centric approaches, while still experimenting with new methods of narrative delivery and pushing the boundaries of this modern art form. Locally here in Helsinki, this also means that we will officially expand the PlayStation family to a growing industry hub and secure the legacy of the oldest game studio in Finland."

Hulst previously said that PlayStation Studios has over 25 games currently in production, with half of them being new intellectual properties. Since then Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart has launched and was received very positively. Looking further ahead, Horizon: Forbidden West stands out as a key upcoming release from a PlayStation Studios team, but it doesn't have a confirmed launch date yet.