Sony Interactive Entertainment to Acquire Valkyrie Entertainment

Best known for providing content and co-development services for several highly acclaimed studios, Valkyrie Entertainment will join PlayStation Studios as the 17th studio and will aid in the development of key PlayStation Studios franchises.

[jonny897]

Worked on games like -
God Of War
Valorant
Halo Infinite
Middle Earth: Shadow Of War
Forza Motorsport
League Of Legends
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
State Of Decay 2

[dbcoops]

Quite the pedigree, that's a big get for Sony.

[Eidolon]

I agree with the pedigree. They've gained some accolade now by this acquisition. I had no idea they had supported such big titles and franchises. This is actually pretty huge. Being managed solely by Playstation Studios could bring a lot of development forward, the apparently have the knack.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@Eidolon,

I couldn't think of what they even made, but after reading that list... That's a surprising work history, great pickup for Sony.

[KillBill]

Wait... so now the Ponies got to show love for Halo, Forza, and State of Decay so they can hype the new acquisition?

[LordoftheCritics]

Wrong site dude.

You gotta be subtle.

[GhostofHorizon]

Just read up about them a bit, these guys have worked on a lot of things as a supporting studio.

Based in Seattle along with Sucker Punch.

They have around 50 employees so they are a decent size. Doubt we will see anything original from them for a while.

[porkChop]

They're a support studio, so I'm not sure they'll make original content. It's more likely a secondary situation like Nixxes. They'll help the other devs on their bigger projects to speed up development. They've helped out on a lot of big games so it's a good acquisition.

[CaptainHenry916]

Yup like Forza and Halo

[porkChop]

Yeah, Forza, Halo, Valorant, even LoL. They've worked on a really wide variety of stuff.

[darthv72]

Welcome aboard. They have worked on some pretty big titles across multiple platforms. i'm sure they will be a helpful addition.

[-Foxtrot]

Guess I'll be honest and say I've never even heard of them until now

[Atticus_finch]

They do alot of the background work.
Crucial work that hardly ever gets recognition. Hopefully with Sony they reach their full potential.

[ApocalypseShadow]

This.

Yeah. Sony is definitely building the back end like when they were building game engines that bore fruit on PS4. Looks like they are pushing for faster PS5 development besides the ease of the dev kits to make games.

Low key but a very intelligent move where it matters. The only purchase I was disappointed with was Softkinetic. They know and do everything that the Kinect motion tracking team did and then some. But Sony never used them for VR. Only for motion controls in things like cars and such.

[strifeblade]

You don't even recognize them

[SegaSaturn669]

Finally, we can get a proper Valkyrie Profile sequel. Stoked.

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

Lulz...

[deleted]

I went to LinkedIn and checked out their Valkyrie Profile. I left quite impressed. **ba-dum-tss*

[Killer73nova]

I can see this team work up a lot of ps1,ps2, and maybe ps3 into Sony’s idea of gamepass.

[Orchard]

This is a smart, tactical acquisition. This studio has helped bring a lot of games to light and will really speed up development and improve the quality of games.

[Michiel1989]

what do they actually do? yes i know its support so not making a full fledged game, but tbh i dont know if its for motion capture, producing assets or gameplay so i cant really get stoked for it or say its a good tactical aquisition. Sony aint dumb so i doubt they just randomly aquired them, but cant get excited over it when i have no clue what aspect of games they work on.

[Orchard]

They literally do it all. Prior to this acquisition, they were working as work for hire for a whole bunch of large developers & publishers, including Sony & MS, to provide additional staffing as required to help them develop their games.

It's extremely common for studios to need extra hands, especially towards the end of development, and these are typically outsourced or contractor/vendor roles rather than full time employees.

So basically, everything on the art & engineering development side, they have environment artists, services engineers, graphics engineers, tech artists, VFX, etc.

What would I expect? They'll probably be jumping in and helping out any 1st party games that need assistance / a helping hand to either hit their release schedule or to simply make the game better / more polished / add in extra features.

[Michiel1989]

if they did it all they wouldnt be a support studio ;)

i know a lot of studios get help from support studios, but i literally dont know what aspect of any game they worked on was created by them, so cant really judge it as good/bad aquisition. When they aqcuired for example Insomniac I was hyped, because i know exactly what Insomiac delivers, i just cant say the same for this aquisition

I dont doubt they are all talented people working there and Sony bought them with good reason I imagine. I just think that most people here saying: good tactical aquirement is based on knowing nothing or very few about em besides scrolling through the list on which games they worked on.

I wish them good luck at least in helping the other studios create even more amazing games!

[darthv72]

Ever heard the phrase "jack of all trades, master of none"... that is what a support studio is good at. helping out with what needs to be done but not having anything they can hold as their own. There are lots of studios who do that. They rather work in the supporting role than take point. it gives them the experience to work on different things and potentially develop a knack for specializing in something to get to the point of becoming a rockstar or naughty dog some day.

[Michiel1989]

@darth the jack of all trades saying doesnt seem applicable to me, they worked on tons of good games so they're doing something right and I think especially for a studio that doesnt make whole games they should be masters of the parts that they do? seems to me that way at least.

Its just that i have no frame of reference of what they worked on specifically so i cant judge them on that. I have faith that Sony makes good decision, but i cant get hyped or credit them for this aquisition based on that.

[ThePacemaker]

I hope they acquire Ember Lab next ..

[Orchard]

They HAVE to be the next target, it just makes perfect sense. Especially after TGA last night.

[dbcoops]

Absolutely agree 100%, they would be a great fit for Sony studios.

[Magog]

Sony out here making moves!

[blackblades]

They making smart moves, strategic moves.

[strifeblade]

What is bold and strategic this stock always did sony stuff

[alb1899]

When is not an "organic move" it is just an smart strategic move jajajaja!
Now MS adquiere WB or SEGA and they get burned in hell jajajaja

[SullysCigar]

They're cherry picking and nurturing, rather than acting like some muppet that just won the lottery. I like it, it's a classy approach.

[Michiel1989]

how did they nurture them exactly? stop with this putting sony on a pedestal, they worked on tons of games, not only by sony so how did this cozy nurturing culture get created? $$$

[strifeblade]

What's classy. They bought a studio that do nothing but playstation and just support existing studios. What's the difference

[SullysCigar]

^ @Michiel1989, learn to read, my friend. I never said they have nurtured THIS studio, I said they are taking a "cherry picking and nurturing" approach. First you pick, then you nurture. Give them a chance lol

I'm sorry if that upset you, but my words are evidenced by the past. Yours are just emotional.

[dbcoops]

@strifeblade

"that do nothing but playstation"

Incorrect bud, they have worked on some very significant xbox titles.

[Destiny1080]

sony is sending a message, that even small support studios are not safe

[My_Name_is_Earl]

(especially)

[dbcoops]

"not safe"? Whats that supposed to mean?

[XxSPIDEYxX]

Welcome to the family Valkyrie Entertainment! Well deserved.

[SonyStyled]

Sounds like they do what XDEV already does for PS. Kind of a weird acquisition

[ApocalypseShadow]

Not really. They're already experienced in helping to make multiple styles of games. We've seen many companies in the ending credits of games. Sony's just making sure those developers are in-house.

When Sony built those game engines from Sony Santa Monica, Guerrilla, Ice Team, etc, no one complained when the big PS4 games showed quality animation, lighting and detail. And was winning multiple awards for their technical prowess.

They're building an army. I just hope they have enough quality generals to lead them.

[Eonjay]

XDev works with non Sony studios as support. Valkyrie looks to be supporting studios within PlayStation Studios.
Thats the biggest difference.

[shadowT]

Sony is making very smart moves.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Double post. The advertising pop ups is making things difficult N4G.

[moriarty1889]

Sony is killing it with studio acquisitions. Catching up to MS. 23 to 17 now.

[My_Name_is_Earl]

Only 6 to go!! Lol silly.

[dbcoops]

Quality over quantity.

[KingofBandits]

Id rather see acquisitions then studios foreclosing, but that said this is quickly becoming an arms race. Sony's holding most of the big guns right now as Xbox Game Studios despite its time in this market looks to be in a fledgling state again with so many of their teams either in flux or struggling to put out content on par with what is expected. I don't mean that as a dig at all, its just that the original Xbox built a strong foundation that the 360 then capitalized on, bringing about great games and partnerships, but by the end of the 360's life all those IP except Gears pretty much were left to die on the vine. Now they are rebuilding again but the end result is less then stellar at times. 6 years for Halo Infinite to launch a little buggy and not finished is crazy. Ninja Theory has artistic chops but their gameplay is still lacking (never really moved past the quirks of Heavenly Sword imo) Xbox has racing in the bag as I consider the Forza series to be more fun then Gran Tourismo in both its mainline and Horizon series. They really just need to get things together, too many setbacks and despite buying DoubleFine games they had such low faith in Psychonauts 2 they couldn't even bother releasing it physically on their own platforms..

[jznrpg]

Interesting . They said they want to make games faster and more than ever before so it makes sense to buy a support team to ensure that .

[KillBill]

Everyone googling 'Valkyrie Entertainment' so they can hype up the fact Xbox is doomed now because of this acquisition. lol

[dbcoops]

Not one person here said xbox is "doomed", they are praising the acquisition which the other side would do the same had xbox made the purchase.

[KillBill]

Only because after googling them they found out they really have only offered support to real developers.

[dbcoops]

So which one is it, they are claiming they're doomed or not because now you just changed your story based on another made up fanboy thought?

Does only supporting "real" developers not count now?

You seem upset that this company has assisted in making some well known games for xbox.

Yes Playstation will definitely benefit from this acquisition you'll have to get over that but xbox is not doomed so you can stop trolling about it.

[KillBill]

I am claiming they are "googling 'Valkyrie Entertainment'" in hopes of making an announcement of the demise of Xbox. No story changed.

Only supporting developers counts as "supporting" developers and little more. They have not proven to be able to do anything but support of others. It counts as "supporting developers".

Not upset in the least of how this company has been able to support other developers that developed games.

Possible PlayStation will likely find a use for the team without breaking them up in the long run. And still most likely that a lot of people were googling who they were in hopes of spreading the frequent announcement of the doom of Xbox by a Sony acquisition.

[dbcoops]

Well I don't know why anyone would make an "announcement of the demise of xbox" from this acquisition considering you yourself have been downplaying them the entire time by saying they are just a support developer.

"They have not proven to be able to do anything but support of others"

Ok, like literally no one claimed anything to the contrary so I don't know why it matters. For the record they're apparently pretty good at supporting other devs so its conceivable to believe they will be just as good doing the same for Sony.

I think people were Googling them because they simply weren't aware of their history, there's nothing wrong with that and there was no need to turn it into a console war by claiming people were Googling them for nefarious reasons.

[KillBill]

You have completely missed the premise of the post I made. As near every previous acquisition or hint of an acquisition has followed with people making outlandish claims of the fall of Xbox due to it. And the fact their claims are outlandish doesn't stop them from doing so near each and every time.

[Good-Smurf]

This is a great support team Sony have to acquire someone in place since JAPAN studio got dissolved.
Hopefully this will help their AAA titles come out faster while still keep the quality.

[DOMination-]

How classy, banning a studio from offering support to FM8.

[dbcoops]

How classy was "banning" Fallout, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, Doom, etc from an entire player base that had those games for ages? Yet you bock at a support studio being purchased, um ok.

[DOMination-]

Oops, forgot the /s.

Sorry I keep doing that. Serious stuff, this.

[NotanotherReboot]

who?