SIE possibly acquires famous Journey developer ‘Giant Squid’

[Gizmo_Duck]

Both Sony Interactive Entertainment and Giant Squidfiled a trademark for "Sword of the Sea" in Europe on October 7. The two companies are each listed as an owner of the trademark.

Sword of the Sea is an atmospheric adventure gamereleased for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on August 19. It was available via the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog at launch, but it was not published or developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Giant Squid, the game's developer, is an independent studio based in California, which raises questions about the co-ownership of the trademark.

One possible scenario is that Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired the Sword of the Sea intellectual property from Giant Squid. Another is that Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired the studio itself.

Gematsu has reached out to both Sony Interactive Entertainment and Giant Squid for comment, and will update this story with any response.

 

[Grand Conde]

Probably just doing something bigger with the IP.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Probably just doing something bigger with the IP.

Have we ever seen sony purchase an individual gaming IP though?

 

[Kamikaze Revy]

Acquisitions are back

 

[Grand Conde]

Have we ever seen sony purchase an individual gaming IP though?

Dunno, but I can't think of any possible reason Playstation would purchase such a studio when they can just moneyhat their console exclusives, which they've been doing for years anyway. It's not like "Sword of the Sea" was a runaway success.

 

[Grand Conde]

Have we ever seen sony purchase an individual gaming IP though?

Honestly I don't know why they are doing, but an acquisition seems far-fetched. Maybe the beginning of a multi-media IP push or just to keep Giant Squid out of the red.

 

[Don Homer]

They made "The Pathless". Good get

 

[feelosofer]

To be fair they are in Santa Monica and they made some really creative games that were successes on Sony systems so it's not far fetched. They make games off the beaten path. Probably a way to increase the budget of their games while being a pipeline exclusive to Sony.

 

[Deezay]

Both Sony Interactive Entertainment and Giant Squidfiled a trademark for "Sword of the Sea" in Europe on October 7. The two companies are each listed as an owner of the trademark.

Sword of the Sea is an atmospheric adventure gamereleased for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on August 19. It was available via the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog at launch, but it was not published or developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Giant Squid, the game's developer, is an independent studio based in California, which raises questions about the co-ownership of the trademark.

One possible scenario is that Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired the Sword of the Sea intellectual property from Giant Squid. Another is that Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired the studio itself.

Gematsu has reached out to both Sony Interactive Entertainment and Giant Squid for comment, and will update this story with any response.

Good catch.
They can do a lot creatively with these minds.