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CDPR Isn’t For Sale, “We Value Independence”

CD Projekt Red

CD Projekt Red has once again reiterated that it is not looking at getting acquired and becoming part of any larger entity. This is far from the first time the Polish studio had to make this statement, as previously, it was reported that Sony was in talks to acquire the developer.

According to a report from Parkiet (via MP1st), when asked about these new rumors sparking further questions if CDPR is for sale, CEO Adam Kiciński stressed that these were just rumors and that it isn’t for sale, that the team has worked for years to get to the position the studio is in today, and that it values independence. Meanwhile, it has no plans to acquire any companies, but it is open to ideas if it could help its strategy, but isn’t done solely to please financial results.

“These are just rumors. We have always had a clear position, supported by the regulations included in the statute (aimed at preventing a hostile takeover – ed.). We are not interested in being included in any larger entity. We have worked our whole lives to get to the position we have now. And we believe that in a few years we will be even bigger and stronger. We have ambitious plans and we are passionate about what we do. We value independence.”

What do you think? Are you glad CDPR isn’t for sale? Let us know below!

No, Sony Isn’t Buying CD Projekt Red

CD Projekt Red

Over the weekend, rumors spiraled that Sony was in talks with CD Projekt Red about acquiring the Polish studio. While Sony could definitely swing such an acquisition, it’s simply not happening.

This isn’t insider info but rather directly from the horse’s mouth. CDPR’s Ola Sondej responded to a tweet dismissing the rumor itself as something that is possible but not happening. She simply stated that the company is not in any sort of talks with Sony about such an acquisition.

It’s a weird rumor to start, as it’s quite the shakeup should it actually occur. CD Projekt Red is a publicly traded developer, plus the whole Cyberpunk 2077 debacle wouldn’t just get dropped and forgiven so easily. Sure, CDPR’s open-world dystopia was delisted from PSN for almost seven months, but that might still be a bit light.

There’s doubt Sony would want anything to do with the Polish developer directly after twisting its refund policy to give money back to dissatisfied Cyberpunk customers.

Sure, Sony is certainly able to enter talks with a good chunk of developers, but CDPR seems more like a developer that will forever remain outside of a console maker’s influence.

New Studio Ballistic Moon Under PlayStation Studios Already

Ballistic Moon

Without even announcing it, it appears that Ballistic Moon, the new studio founded by industry pros, has been acquired by PlayStation. Despite not having any games under its belt, the studio was already working with Sony on a project code named Project Bates.

The news comes from a job listing that has since been edited by PlayStation, but PSX Extreme was able to verify an archived version. It tells prospective senior dialogue designers that they will work on major AAA projects alongside its partners like “Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Guerrilla Games, Firesprite, Ballistic Moon, London Studios, Housemarque, Media Molecule, Insomniac Games, Sucker Punch Productions, and more.” All the studios listed are their first-party studios, so while yes Ballistic is partnering with PlayStation to bring us a game that was supposedly in the early stages in mid-2022, it would’ve been omitted from the list.

This would be yet another PlayStation Studios acquisition to expand its reach and seemingly the first acquisition of the year and no doubt what Jim Ryan said last year is true.

“It’s Testament To The Talent” Haven Studios CEO On PS Acquisition

Haven Studios

Earlier this month, Sony dropped the ball that they’ve acquired Haven Studios. Spearheaded by Ubisoft and EA veteran, Jade Raymond, the studio is in the process of an unannounced IP.

As mentioned by GamesIndustry, this acquisition is a bit different than PlayStation’s usual fanfare. With the likes of Housemarque, Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, and the like, they usually enjoy a period to get to know the studios’ strengths. Even with the little that Bungie has offered to Sony, it’s still enough for them to know that they could benefit from having the studio as part of their roster.

Haven Studios, on the other hand, has very little in the public eye, with only the mention that they’re working on a game. That said, of course, Sony knows more about the inner-workings and what exactly they’re doing. Herman Hulst touched on the new studio factor, but felt their content was exciting and they wanted to deepen their relationship with the studio.

“You’re right, we could have just carried on in the capacity of them being an external development partner. But what Haven has created is so exciting for us, there was just a desire to deepen that relationship. We have been very impressed with how Haven is coming together.”

In terms of Haven’s part, Raymond places talent at the forefront of this acquisition.

“It’s testament to the talent, and the amazing relationships and trust we have between the team. A lot of these people have worked together over decades on many AAA games. We’ve created new IPs together. Many of them have gone on to work at different studios with me. That’s really a big leg up when you all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. You know how to work together, and you have done this before.”

Currently, Haven is working on an unannounced IP.

PlatinumGames CEO Entertains Acquisition Provided It’s Guaranteed Freedom

PlatinumGames

PlatinumGames’ CEO, Atsushi Inaba, is entertaining the idea that the company is open to getting acquired, even by Microsoft, which they were initially uninterested in, but they do have demands for any company. If the studio were to get acquired, they’d want freedom to make whatever game they want to. 

The most important thing for us is to have the freedom to make the games that we want to make. What I hear about the recent acquisitions, I don’t think Microsoft is going to start micromanaging Activision to where they take away all their freedom… I don’t think it’s going to be a relationship like that.”

An acquisition like a major company grabbing hold of PlatinumGames would be a huge deal, the studio is one of the biggest independent studios in Japan, which granted, Microsoft wants to move into that market, but analysts believe it would be difficult due to cultural differences.

PlatinumGames

Would PlatinumGames Be Better With Sony?

It’s hard to say who would strike the better deal with Platinum — should they sell. Microsoft finds itself in the running due to deep pockets, but Sony seems to have a slight bit more of a hands-off approach, if their $3.6 billion Bungie acquisition is anything to go by. Plus, the PlayStation parent has the benefit of having people rooted in that culture in the same country and may be able to strike a much better deal than the American-based Microsoft.

Analyst: “I Think Sony Vastly Overpaid [For Bungie]”

Bungie

Wedbush Securities’ managing director of equity research and gaming industry analyst, Michael Pachter, has taken to Yahoo! Finance to discuss the Bungie purchase announced in very late January. The analyst, which often leads to aggravating fans of certain franchises and devs, believes Sony had overpaid for the recent $3.6 billion acquisition.

Taking a stance on — of course — the profit side of things, Pachter pointed to EA’s Respawn purchase where Sony dropped a cool $700 million in order to acquire a studio which was netting them $700 million a year. In contrast, he mentions how Bungie does a meager — relatively — $200 million a year.

“EA bought Respawn about three or four years ago for $700 million with 400 developers. And those guys generate $700 million a year in revenue. Bungie does about $200 million in revenue. So I think Sony vastly overpaid.”

He goes on to mention how this feels like Sony’s just making sure fans know that they won’t be left behind or overtaken by other major competitors taking leaps of faith to acquire other studios, like Take-Two acquiring mobile dev Zynga or Microsoft nabbing not just Bethesda’s parent, ZeniMax, but also intending to do the same with Activision. 

“I think this was a statement that we’re not going to let Microsoft get ahead of us, so we’ll just buy something out of desperation. It’s not really a deal that makes a whole lot of sense to me.”

Naturally, this take can only go so far as we are aware Sony wants to bolster its live-service model, which its purchase of Bungie can certainly help. While Bungie isn’t raking in the high hundreds of millions, their Destiny franchise success story could show Sony just how valuable they could be to help them march into a new niche as they aim to release 10 live-service titles.