Sony Acquires its 17th studio, Valkyrie Entertainment

If the tantalizing PS5 (PlayStation 5) was not enough for you, Sony’s PlayStation Studios is acquiring co-development studio, Valkyrie Entertainment. The Seattle-based Valkyrie Entertainment will be Sony’s fifth studio this year and the 17th studio apart of the PlayStation Studios brand. 2021 consists of Sony acquiring Housemarque, Firesprite, Nixxes Software, and Bluepoint Games. Moving forward, Valkyrie Entertainment will assist in AAA titles (also known as (triple A games), as well as popular PlayStation exclusives. 

Valkyrie was founded in 2002 and operated as an independent development studio, ever since. Out of all of that time, Valkyrie managed to publish one video game, which is a free-to-play action strategy, called Guns Up! (also published by Sony). Also, Valkyrie Entertainment has a self-developed 2D side-scroller game, called Guns Up!

Regardless, the adaptable studio, Valkyrie, is respected for many contributions (like working on the 2018 released God of War for Sony and the upcoming God Of War: Ragnarok). In addition, Valkyrie worked with Riot Games and Microsoft, helping on titles like Halo: Infinite, Valorant, Forza Motorsport 7. 

Joakim Wejdemar (the President and founder of Valkyrie Entertainment) talked about the acquisition, saying “Since 2002, we have contributed to well over 100 titles, including great PlayStation franchises, such as God of War, inFAMOUS, and Twisted Metal. In our next chapter, we are excited to continue our relationship with some of the most talented teams in the world, expanding and contributing to the portfolio of amazing games available for PlayStation fans.”

Nintendo Is Doing What?:

Currently, Nintendo is planning to build new development resources, avoiding project resourcing. Part of this solution is to build an office space near Kyoto (it’s current headquarters). Adding 8,500 square metres to Nintendo’s place, sixth and seventh floors of the Kyoto City Water and Sewerage Works Bureau building, will be rented out by Nintendo, located next to the company’s current headquarters. Additional development resources will be used through Kyoto City Water and Sewerage Works Bureau, starting in May 2022. 

More so, there are plans to build another building, on the premises of the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center. Nintendo spoke about future plans, in a report from Nikkei, saying, “Until now, game development was often outsourced, but we will increase our employment.”