Finland’s arcade powerhouse finally inks a deal with Sony.

Finnish based development studio Housemarque has officially been acquired by Sony and is joining PlayStation Studios. The announcement comes by way of the official PlayStation blog where PS Studios head Hermon Hulst welcomed Housemarque to the family. “I have been a fan of Housemarque since the studio’s early days when they introduced Super Stardust HD to PlayStation fans“, writes Hulst. “Housemarque’s recent release of Returnal proves the studio is one with incredible vision, capable of creating memorable new games that resonate with our community. This addition enhances the creative force of PlayStation Studios, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Housemarque.“

As Hulst states, Housemarque has a great pedigree that fits wonderfully with PlayStation Studios. With such titles as Super Stardust HD, Dead Nation, Resogun, and the recent Returnal in their stable of hits, it was the logical next step for a studio that hasn’t been on the most secure footing prior to Returnal’s launch. Sealing the deal with Sony not only ensures future stability for the studio, it also acts as a springboard for more growth. Housemarque co-founder and Managing Director, Ilari Kuittinen, elaborates on this. “This gives our studio a clear future and a stable opportunity to continue delivering on gameplay centric approaches, while still experimenting with new methods of narrative delivery and pushing the boundaries of this modern artform.” Keittinen continued, “With the backing of SIE and its family of studios supporting us, we can truly grow into our place in the industry and show what Housemarque can create with no limitations. We can’t wait to show everyone what will be in store in the upcoming years, and we hope to usher in more lasting memories and exhilarating titles for the next quarter century and beyond.“

After a barrage of acquisitions from rival Microsoft, the perception was that Sony needed a counter punch or two to balance out the scales. The Housemarque acquisition is a solid first rebuttal, but Sony apparently isn’t done acquiring more studios in the near future. The official Sony Japan Twitter account accidentally uploaded the wrong image when they were to promote the Housemarque acquisition. The Twitter account clearly shows an image welcoming Bluepoint Games to the family, and not Housemarque.

..so apparently PlayStation Japan uploaded the wrong image with their first tweet on Housemarque's acquisition, and it actually mentions a Bluepoint acquisition pic.twitter.com/yQBHtLbG5c

— Nibel (@Nibellion) June 29, 2021

We’ll have to wait and see when Sony officially announces Bluepoint as a new internal studio, but it would seem it’s only a matter of time before we find out. Bluepoint most recently worked on the incredible Demon’s Souls remake for PS5 as well as the 2018’s Shadow of the Colossus remake for PS4. It has long been rumored that Bluepoint is remaking Metal Gear Solid for Konami/Sony, but again, we’ll just have to wait and see how that shakes out.

What say you, Deer Reader? What do you make of Sony’s recent studio acquisition? Which developer does Sony need to pursue next? Let us know in the comments section!