Sony announced plans to buy some game development studios ahead of the company's launch of the PlayStation 5. Industry officials expect the PS5 to launch in 2020, meaning that Sony has started gearing up for the release of its next-generation console, which should push the boundaries of gaming.

Sony has officially revealed details about the PS5, which boasts a console with an AMD chip based on Ryzen's third-gen technology, as well as support for 8k resolution. The PS5 could also have a new lightning-fast SSD drive that will help reduce load times on consoles. These specs should give developers a lot more to run with when creating games and it's no secret that some major studios are already working on games for the PS5, including Square Enix' Luminous Production Studio and Bandai Namco's Supermassive Games.

Sony isn't stopping there, though. It plans on bringing more developers to the table ahead of the PS5 launch. According to a recent Sony Interactive Entertainment investor meeting, President and Ceo Jim Ryan laid out the company's strategy for making sure that the PS5 has some of the best developers in the business. He outlined how Sony has plans to purchase some first-party studios as the company gets closer to the launch of the new system.


This is a little different from how Sony has worked in the recent past. Generally, the company opens its own studios for game development, with only a few purchases of studios made here and there. Sony's last acquisition was in 2011 when the company bought Sucker Punch, the developer behind the inFAMOUS franchise, as well as the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima. Working with first-party studios has already proven successful for Sony: SIE Santa Monica Studio's God of War sold 5 million copies within its first month.

Sony isn't taking any chances with the PS5 and is making big plans for its launch. Not only will it purchase new development studios, but it also recently surprised the industry by announcing a partnership with Microsoft. That partnership will give Sony access to Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing service. That could benefit Sony's plans for bringing more exclusive multiplayer games to the PS5, and some of the new studios Sony plans on purchasing could get tasked with new multiplayer games for the system. There is no word on which studios Sony currently has its eyes on, but the industry can probably expect announcements relatively soon.