Housemarque, Sony was not the only one interested in the software house

Housemarque

The authors of Returnal, or Housemarque, from this week are part of the large family of PlayStation Studios. The software house, based in Finland, has become part of Sony's first party, practically on a par with Insomniac, Naughty Dog and Santa Monica. An incredible honor for the developers, who will thus be able to count on higher budgets for their projects and yet the story could have gone very, very differently.

If it is true that today Housemarque is officially from Sony, the founder of Ilari Kuittinen studio revealed that the Japanese giant was just one of the many names that the development team wanted to acquire. Apparently, therefore, Jim Ryan and his associates had a lot of competition before being able to announce the "done deal", a ruthless competition as Kuittinen explained, given that offers from all over the world rained down on his desk. "We have had offers from very large companies, from China, Sweden and the United States," said Kuittinen in an interview.

The CEO and founder of Housemarque, however, decided not to mention the names. Partly probably out of respect for the bidders, partly because most likely any offer received on his desk was (and still is protected) by a very heavy NDA, or a non-disclosure agreement. Despite this, it is very likely to assume that the offer from China could have been from Tencent or NetEase, while as far as Sweden and the United States are concerned, things get complicated but for their neighbors the acquisition was most likely attempted by Starbreeze Studios.

Housemarque flowing into PlayStation, however, isn't such a strange thing. In fact, over the last few years most of their games have been exclusive or exclusive consoles, thus making the developer very close to Sony. The acquisition, therefore, appears very natural indeed. Waiting, of course, to discover their next project which could really be the biggest one ever produced by Kuittinen and associates, thanks to this entry into the world of the Japanese giant's first party.

The latest project by Housemarque is Returnal, a PlayStation 5 exclusive rogue like: you can find it on Amazon with a big discount.

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‘Returnal’ developer Housemarque rejected offers prior to Sony acquisition

Housemarque CEO Ilari Kuittinen has revealed that multiple parties were interested in acquiring the developer prior to Sony.

Speaking with Yle.Fi, Kuittinen discussed the acquisition that saw Sony attain exclusive publishing rights for the developer.

Kuittinen detailed how several big businesses from “China, Sweden and the United states” were interested in the developer.

It’s likely that the businesses Kuittinen is referring to are Tencent, Embracer Group and Microsoft, as all three represent the largest in their respective nations.

The CEO ultimately chose Sony for one specific reason: “In our discussions, it became clear that Sony wanted to buy us because we are doing something that others are not doing.”

“Their starting point has not been that we would start making games according to the formula defined by Sony.”

Returnal. Credit: Housemarque

Kuittinen also discusses how excited the team is for the future in the interview. Returnal was the studio’s biggest game yet, but the team is already looking forward to the next title.

“What if we put even more bangs and made games for large audiences with high goals for artistry and innovation as well,” commented Kuittinen.

The Housemarque acquisition is the biggest of its kind in Finland. Smaller mobile developers Supercell and Small Giant Games were acquired in previous years, but Housemarque is the most established developer in the country.

Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer commented on studio acquisitions earlier this week, stating that it is “the natural turnover that happens with entrepreneurs and start-up businesses”.

Spencer also added that he understands why players are hesitant about the practise, likely referencing how numerous beloved developers have been closed following an acquisition.

Elsewhere, a DICE developer has offered a gamer on Twitter a free copy of Battlefield 2042 if they can complete a unique challenge.

The challenge will require the Twitter user to complete a difficult Battlefield V challenge while playing on a smaller screen.