TGO Daily | Wednesday June 30, 2021 | Sony Acquires Housemarque
Another slow days of news! Sony acquires Housemarque, Ubisoft triples team size for latest Mario+Rabbids title, and we check in with Bethesda has in the Works (pun intended).
TGO Daily | Wednesday June 30, 2021
✏️From the Author
Not much news yet again so far this week! I’m guessing that with the abundance of info that came out around E3 that the news cycle is taking a bit of a breather. With GDC (Game Developers Conference) less than a month away, the news cycle may stay on the quieter end of things until we get closer to the event.
Regardless, today we have some interesting and smart acquisitions on Sony’s part, Mario+Rabbids info (the first game was great, by the way), and doing a check in with what we have in the pipeline from Bethesda.
Until next time,
Brandon
Sony Acquires Housemarque (& Bluepoint?)
Housemarque, the Finnish studio behind the recent PS5 hit Returnal, has officially been acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment for an undisclosed fee.
While Housemarque solidified itself with Returnal, it is by no means their first interaction with Sony. With games like Resogun, Alienation, Matterfall, and Nex Machina being PlayStation-focused, they have bumped shoulders with PlayStation on many occasions. Head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, confirmed as much in his interview with GQ regarding the acquisition.
“The amount of collaboration between our external development group and Housemarque on the technical side, the production management side and even on the creative side has been so deep. So for us, it just makes so much sense to [acquire them].”
Sony’s last acquisition was Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Spider-Man Miles Morales) in 2019 and they clearly are wanting to recreate the magic produced by them by bringing Housemarque under their umbrella as well. With Housemarque now having the resources and experience of Sony behind them, we can expect to see more wonderful things akin to Returnal down the road. Where they’ll go from here, no one is sure. It will be no surprise to see them flourish more, just like Insomniac, under the bright lights of Sony.
In relation to the above news, Sony has also very likely acquired Bluepoint as well. This is the studio that has worked on remasters for the PlayStation like the PS5’s Demon’s Souls, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, and more. This is another studio Sony has worked with many times and is another notch on their belt as they continue to bring on more studios that they have worked with on numerous occasions and whom they have faith and trust in. While the acquisition is not official yet, it was leaked in a tweet by PlayStation Japan, so we’ll likely see an official announcement soon.
Brandon’s Thoughts: Sony is making smart moves here plain and simple. When asked if this was Sony joining the ‘arms race’ to acquire studios (like Microsoft buying Bethesda, ZeniMax, etc) the head of PS Studios commented it’s not a race. Sony is being selective and bringing on the teams that they want. The comment lines up perfect with the acquisition of Housemarque and Bluepoint. These are studios they’ve worked with multiple times and have relationships with. It’s great to see these studios be put in an environment where they can do their own thing still, but with the resources and experience to elevate them. I look forward to seeing what the future holds from both of them.
Mario+Rabbids Sparks of Hope Team is Triple in Size from Previous Title
The Ubisoft team that worked on the original Mario+Rabbids title was just over 100 people. With Sparks of Hope, however, the team has tripled in size and is including multiple divisions of Ubisoft.
The large expansion of the team has led to easier updates on systems from the previous game. In Sparks of Hope we can expect to see a 360-degree camera (as opposed to the original fixed-camera), more freedom of movement out-of-combat, and players will now be able to freely compose their team to their preference (you’ll now be able to create a full Rabbids team, Mario team, mix-and-match, etc).
Mario+Rabbids Sparks of Hope will release on the Switch in some time in 2022.
Brandon’s Thoughts: I’ve got to say, the first game completely took me by surprise with how much fun it was. It doesn’t break any barriers in the tactical turn-based genre, but it does it well and with the adorableness we’ve come to expect from Nintendo. If you’re into these types of games, I’d certainly recommend the first game.
Checking in with Bethesda
Bethesda has some big stuff in the works. Here’s some of their upcoming stuff to look out for:
Starfield - This is the first original IP coming from Bethesda in 25 years. We haven’t heard too much on the game, but we do know it will be a space RPG with open exploration. It is slated to release on Xbox Series X/S and PC on November 11, 2022.
Deathloop - Step into the shoes of an assassin stuck in a time loop where he needs to eliminate 8 targets before midnight or time will reset. We’ve gotten several trailers of the game and the premise seems pretty interesting as you learn the patterns of your targets - making yourself more efficient in your assassinations as you learn their behaviors and perfect your methods. It is set to release on PlayStation 5 and PC on September 14, 2021.
Redfall - A co-op shooter with some Left 4 Dead vibes, with the heroes having special abilities to supplement their bullets. You’ll select a hero and work your way through waves of vampires (some with varied abilities and strength/weaknesses) towards a goal. It launches for the Xbox Series X/S and PC in Summer 2022.
Indiana Jones - Originally pitched to George Lucas in 2009, Bethesda has been holding on to this idea for a long time. We know pretty much nothing about it, not even the official title, but we were told that it will be an original tale, set at the height of Indy’s career. There is no release date currently set.
The Elder Scrolls 6 - We know next-to-nothing about the beloved series. What we currently have to work with is that we’ll have more “meaningful info” on the game when we get closer to the release of Starfield in 2022.
Bethesda has a lot in the works and it’ll be interesting to see how these titles turn out and how, if at all, that will affect future games.
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