PlayStation Boss Denies “Arms Race” With Xbox Following Housemarque Acquisition

In a recent interview, Hermen Hulst, the head of PlayStation Studios, talks about the takeover strategy of Sony Interactive Entertainment and also comments that there is “no arms race” with Xbox following the takeover of Housemarque (Returnal).

PlayStation Boss says there is “no arms race” with Xbox

The British GQ magazine recently conducted an interview with the PlayStation boss Hermen Hulst in more detail and spoke to him about the recently announced studio purchases by Facebook, Microsoft, and Sony themselves. He was asked whether he would see a kind of “arms race” in these takeovers. A description from which Hulst clearly distances himself.

As he then explains, Sony Interactive Entertainment is “very selective” when it comes to getting new development teams on board. He cites the company’s last major acquisition, Insomniac Games, which it acquired in 2019 for $229 million. This was a business that he considered “worked very well.”

In addition, Hulst explains that he is always on the lookout for like-minded people, for people “that have a similar set of values, similar creative ambitions” and who can therefore cooperate well with the rest of the team. It would be about finding studios that he could continue to invest in to help them grow as developers. Accordingly, Sony would not “just make random acquisitions.”

With regard to the takeover of Housemarque announced today, Hulst adds that this was a logical step for him. There has already been an intensive collaboration between the development studio and Sony’s external teams in the past. As a result, it “just makes so much sense” to take this step now.

What is your opinion on Hermen Hulst’s statements regarding the takeovers of the development studios?