PlayStation Studios explained: what is PlayStation Studios, which companies are part of it, and which PS5 games will feature the PlayStation Studios logo and video fanfare?


Sony has revealed some new branding for a collection of companies known as PlayStation Studios, but you might be wondering what this actually means.

What is PlayStation Studios, you ask? Well, basically, it's the new name that Sony has given to the video game development studios that it has creative control over.

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As we move into the PS5 era, where we'll be playing next-gen games on Sony's new hardware using the PS5 DualSense controller, Sony wants to make it super-clear which games are made by its first-party studios.

PlayStation Studios has a logo and a video fanfare, both of which will be prevalent in the marketing and release of games from Sony-owned companies. Read on to learn more.

What is PlayStation Studios?

GamesIndustry.biz helped Sony unveil PlayStation Studios, describing this as "a new umbrella brand to unite its first-party PlayStation titles."

This new branding will launch alongside the PS5, later this year, and you can expect to see it on trailers, box art and other promotional materials from Sony-owned games companies.

Sony also unveiled the following PlayStation Studios Opening Animation, which will play at the start of games from Sony-owned developers. You'd be right in thinking that this video fanfare is rather reminiscent of the Marvel Studios branding from the MCU film franchise...

Which companies are part of PlayStation Studios?

This is all well and good, but you might be wondering which companies are actually included in PlayStation Studios. If you're not sure which game developers that Sony owns, allow us to fill you in.

Naughty Dog (who made Uncharted and The Last Of Us), Insomniac (Ratchet & Clank, Spider-Man), Santa Monica Studio (God Of War), Media Molecule (Dreams) and Guerrilla Games (Horizon Zero Dawn) are all game-development companies that Sony owns - you can expect their PS5 games, most of which are being kept under wraps for the time being, to carry this branding.

GamesIndustry.biz also notes that "the PlayStation Studios brand will also apply to games made by work-for-hire developers under Sony's direction", kind of like how Netflix puts the 'Netflix Original' branding on quite a broad spectrum of stuff.

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