PlayStation eyes new investment for PC, mobile push - Reuters

TOKYO, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Sony Group Corp's (6758.T) gaming business is looking at fresh investment to bolster its push into PC and mobile, a senior executive said, as the PlayStation 5 maker competes for talent with deep-pocketed rivals and as industry dealmaking heats up.

"Further investments in areas that will strengthen the expansion on to PC, on to mobile and into live services, that's definitely a possibility for us," Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, told Reuters in an interview without providing further detail.

Sony, whose studios are known for single player console games such as "Spider-Man" and "God of War", has outlined ambitious plans to release titles on PC and mobile and offer live service games, which provide continuous updated play.

"You should think of collaborations on the game development side first and foremost, but it's also not unthinkable with our PlayStation Productions efforts that we explore opportunities," Hulst said of the FromSoftware investment.

Hulst, who is based in the Netherlands and took up his post in 2019, has overseen the growth of PlayStation Studios to 19 studios, with additions including Nixxes, which ports console games to PC, and mobile developer Savage Game Studios.

"If Sony can pull off what they did with single player experiences but (as) multiplayer experiences across platforms, on the PC, on consoles and maybe even on the phone, then all bets are off," said Toto, pointing to the success of online games such as Fortnite from Epic Games.