Former Sony Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden has said that the company’s acquisition of Insomniac Games is one of his greatest achievements.
Layden, whose career at Sony spanned more than thirty years before he departed in September 2019, tweeted:
Seems a lifetime ago. Yet one of the greatest achievements I was fortunate to associate myself with at PlayStation. So good, so right. Continue to greatness you crazy Insomniacs! Fun fact : in the biz this swag is called a “tombstone”. Natch. pic.twitter.com/4ajnYFLPsg
— Shawn Layden (@ShawnLayden) January 25, 2020
While it may seem like a lifetime ago to Layden, the Insomniac Games acquisition was only announced last August, much to the delight of PlayStation fans. “We are honored and thrilled to join forces with this legendary developer,” Sony said in a brief statement.
Although Insomniac has a history of developing PlayStation exclusives, the developer did work with other companies, including Microsoft on Xbox One-exclusive Sunset Overdrive. All Insomniac-owned IPs including Sunset Overdrive are now Sony’s properties.
Sony’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Hiroki Totoki, said back in October that the company would be open to similar acquisitions in the future.
“Sony’s strength lies in our first-party content and IP,” Totoki told investors while adding that the Insomniac acquisition was completed with “the aim of strengthening these.”
For its part, Microsoft has also been busy acquiring developers including Ninja Theory and Obsidian Entertainment. Both platform manufacturers will launch their next-gen consoles later this year.
For more on Insomniac Games, check out our previous coverage.
