Returnal is one of the most well-received games of the year and is Housemarque’s biggest and most ambitious title yet. Sony must have been impressed with it, too, as it has just acquired the Finnish developer. And while Sony has officially bought Housemarque, it may have slipped up and accidentally spoiled that it is also purchasing Bluepoint as well.
Welcome to the family, @Housemarque!
Developer of Returnal, Super Stardust, and Dead Nation is the newest member of PlayStation Studios. Full details: https://t.co/2QboOOzQ1r pic.twitter.com/1NXMw0cwXf
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 29, 2021
Sony announced this via tweet and accompanying blog post. Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst spoke about the new partnership, saying it “enhances the creative force of PlayStation Studios” and that he can’t wait for what the studio cooks up next. Co-founder and Managing Director Ilari Kuittinen also gave a quick statement on the PlayStation Blog. He implied that this gives the team security.
“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,” he said. “Locally here in Helsinki, this also means that we will officially expand the PlayStation family to a growing industry hub and secure the legacy of the oldest game studio in Finland.
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Growth seemed to be a common thread as Kuittinen said Sony’s backing lets the developer grow and make “with no limitations.” This makes sense as Housemarque has been at the forefront of new Sony technology. 2007’s Super Stardust HD was an early PlayStation Network game on PlayStation 3 and the first game to get trophies in 2008. Super Stardust Delta was a Vita launch game. Super Stardust Ultra received a VR expansion for PlayStation VR. And most recently, Returnal was one of the first PlayStation 5-exclusive titles.
https://twitter.com/PS_Studios_WW/status/1409822177080184837
But the scenario gets a little more unique as the Japanese PlayStation Twitter account may have leaked another upcoming studio purchase. Some users noticed that Sony had mistakenly tweeted a “Welcome to the Family” picture for Bluepoint Games, the studio famous for its remakes and remasters. The tweet was quickly taken down, but hard to deny for a few reasons. The included graphic not only existed but also had the knight from Demon’s Souls, which was a PS5-exclusive launch game.
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Like Housemarque, Bluepoint has also had a long history with Sony. It has remastered a ton of games for Sony platforms since its foundation in 2006. It developed Blast Factor for the PS3’s launch in 2006 before remastering and remaking many games after, all but two of which were exclusive to PlayStation platforms. Demon’s Souls‘ critical acclaim and the team’s long-standing relationship with Sony makes the tweet seem more than a simple error. However, it’s best to wait for Sony to give the official word.
