Sony acquires Returnal developer and long-time partner Housemarque

A strong relationship for the last 14 years or so just became stronger still.

In a blog entry posted earlier today, head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst welcomed development studio Housemarque "to the family." It joins a stable that includes Insomniac Games, Guerrilla Games, and numerous others, ensuring Sony will be able to continue cranking out original content for the platforms of its choosing.

"I have been a fan of Housemarque since the studio's early days when they introduced Super Stardust HD to PlayStation fans," Hulst noted in his brief comments. "Hosuemarque's recent release of Returnal proves the studio is one with incredible vision, capable of creating memorable new games that resonate with our community."

Returnal is considerably more ambitious than most past efforts from the team at Housemarque, which has developed a reputation for producing polished but generally micro-sized experiences such as Dead Nation and Resogun. Though its earliest releases were PC titles, the Finland-based studio has stuck close to Sony for nearly everything produced since Super Stardust HD helped establish that strong relationship upon its release in 2007.

"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," said Ilari Kuittinen, Housemarque's co-founder and managing director.

Housemarque looks forward to showing what it can create next "with no limitations." Given the studio's output over the past two decades, there's no reason to doubt that with continued support from its new owner, Housemarque can deliver on more of its promise.

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Staff article by Jason Venter (June 29, 2021) Jason Venter has been playing games for 30 years, since discovering the Apple IIe version of Mario Bros. in his elementary school days. Now he writes about them, here at HonestGamers and also at other sites that agree to pay him for his words.