PlayStation Studiosis making a big move towards expanding its already impressive library of first-party content by acquiring another development studio, Firewalk Studios. The studio hasn’t yet released its debut title butPlayStationseems intrigued by whatever progress is being made.
Firewalk Studios was founded a little over five years ago by veteran game director Ryan Ellis and former Activision CFO Tony Hsu. There haven’t been any concrete details on its debut title aside from it being lauded as a “AAA multiplayer gamefor PlayStation.” Hsu and Ellis say they’ve been supported by Sony since 2021, but this recent acquisition by PlayStation Studios shows an increased level of investment that may mean good things for whatever game the studio is currently developing.
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The announcement came via an announcement today from Head of PlayStation Studios Herman Hulst. The official statement, sadly, still doesn’t give interested parties any clue into what exactly it is Firewalk is working on right now, but it does say the studio is “creating inspiring worlds grounded in exceptional gameplay.” The history of Firewalk’s foundersworking within theDestinyfranchiseis certainly an encouraging indicator that a large-scale world with exceptional multiplayer gameplay can be made.
Ryan Ellis, one of the founders of Firewalk Studios, previously worked at Bungie as the Technical Art Director for Destiny and the Creative Director for Destiny 2. He also has credits forHalo Reach,Star Wars: The Force Unleashed,and multipleOddworldtitles. Tony Hsu, the other Firewalk founder alongside Ellis, worked on the finance end of Activision for more than 7 years.
Everything surrounding Firewalk Studios and its new partnership by PlayStation is pure speculation from outside viewers as of right now. Sony is definitely invested in expanding its multiplayer content moving forward, which was made abundantly clear by its announcement last year to launch at least 10 live service games by 2026. Its single-player catalog is one of the most fearsome in the industry right now with franchises likeGod of War,Horizon, andSpider-Man. Not to mentionthe ever-expanding popularity ofThe Last of Usseries. Multiplayer hasn’t been a major focus of its first-party titles in the past, though, and it seems as though this upcoming game from Firewalk is one of PlayStation’s attempts to rectify that.
