Sony buys Savage Game Studios to beef up new mobile gaming division

SIE, the video gaming wing of tech giant Sony, has agreed a purchase of Finland and Germany based mobile studio Savage Game Studios, which will be absorbed into its new mobile game division.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Savage Game Studios, as it looks to give its brand new PlayStation Studios Mobile Division some firepower.

The studio is led by ‘veteran co-founders’ Michail Katkoff, Nadjim Adjir, and Michael McManus, who collectively bring ‘decades of mobile game development and operating experience’. The firm is currently working in an unannounced new AAA mobile action title. Day-to-day operations post-acquisition will continue to be the studio’s management team, we are told.

“PlayStation Studios must continue to expand and diversify our offering beyond console, bringing incredible new games to more people than ever before,” said Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios. “Acquiring the talented team at Savage Game Studios is another strategic step towards that goal. I’m really excited about what Savage is working on and I’m confident they will deliver a high-quality experience. Our move into mobile, like our expansion into PC and live service games, strengthens our capabilities and our community, and complements PlayStation Studios’ purpose to make the best games that we can.”

Michail Katkoff, CEO and Co-founder of Savage Game Studios, added: “Savage Game Studios was founded by industry veterans yearning to challenge the status quo and bring meaningful innovation to mobile gaming. Today’s announcement reflects our firm belief that SIE shares our passion for experimentation and taking risks. We have great admiration for the consistency and quality of PlayStation’s first-party catalogue, knowing just how hard it is in this industry to deliver time and time again as they have. We’re honoured to become part of that legacy, and to join PlayStation Studios’ world class collective of immensely talented designers, artists, and engineers. We’re early in development on our unannounced project but can’t wait to show you more of what we’re working on.”

Sony is one of the key players in the console space and has been for decades, and with a ton of gaming IP under its belt the move to buy Savage and to create the mobile division at all seems to be about retargeting its roster of game brands to a wider audience, concurrently with a drive to expand into PC gaming.

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