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Sony continues its PlayStation spending spree with Bluepoint purchase

The Demon's Souls remake developer is the newest addition to the PlayStation Studios family.

​A screenshot of Bluepoint's Demon's Souls remake for the PlayStation 5.

Bluepoint's Demon's Souls remake for the PlayStation 5 was a successful console launch game for Sony.

Image: Sony

Sony on Thursday announced its acquisition of Bluepoint Games, an Austin-based developer that specializes in making high-definition remakes and remasters of older games. Bluepoint was rumored to be a likely acquisition target for Sony considering the two companies' long working history stretching back to the God of War Collection in 2009 and the original PlayStation 3 game Blast Factor in 2006.

More recently, Bluepoint has garnered acclaim for its remake of FromSoftware classic Demon's Souls, which released as a PlayStation 5 launch exclusive last fall, and for its Shadow of the Colossus remake in 2018. "With each of its projects, Bluepoint has raised the bar on console-defining visuals and gameplay, and the studio's vast expertise in world building and character creation will be a huge plus for future PlayStation Studios properties," said PlayStation Studios chief Hermen Hulst in a statement.

Sony has been scooping up game studios left and right this year, starting with its purchase of Returnal developer Housemarque in June. Bluepoint marks the company's fourth gaming acquisition and the only one of the bunch not centered on Europe, where Sony has been putting significant resources in the last few years to build up development hubs outside Japan and the U.S. The company shuttered its Tokyo-based Japan Studio in February and is looking to further build out its first-party portfolio, especially so now with added competition from Microsoft's renewed exclusives push and the growth and popularity of Xbox Game Pass.

Nick Statt

Nick Statt is Protocol's video game reporter. Prior to joining Protocol, he was news editor at The Verge covering the gaming industry, mobile apps and antitrust out of San Francisco, in addition to managing coverage of Silicon Valley tech giants and startups. He now resides in Rochester, New York, home of the garbage plate and, completely coincidentally, the World Video Game Hall of Fame. He can be reached at nstatt@protocol.com.

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