Sony acquires Media Molecule

By Robert Purchese Published 2 March, 2010

LittleBigPlanet dev joins ranks.

Sony's list of strong first-party studios has grown this afternoon with the acquisition LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule.

They'll join studios like Naughty Dog and Evolution Studios as part of Sony Worldwide Studios.

Sony described the deal as a "strategic move to secure excellence in game development for current and future PlayStation platforms".

"Since Media Molecule's inception, we've had a uniquely close relationship with SCE. Over the years they have consistently shown their dedication to Creative Gaming and Media Molecule, not only through their support of the company, but their willingness to take risks and embrace our often unusual approach and ideas," said Alex Evans, co-founder of Media Molecule.

"What we've achieved already with LittleBigPlanet has proved this to us and we're excited by this new chapter of innovation and creative gaming, for all involved.”

There's no mention of a LittleBigPlanet 2.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • M_of_the_sys #1 2 years ago

    That's a shame. Great game and would be good if people on other platforms could play this also.

    Edit: Not sure why ths is getting marked down? I'm not too fussed but I am confused...
    Edited by 1 at 02/03/10 @ 17:17

  • BabyJesus #2 2 years ago

    Insomniac aren't owned by Sony they are Independent.

    /pedant

  • insincere_dave #3 2 years ago

    I'm shocked to the very core.

  • CaptainQuint #4 2 years ago

    Well good move by Sony, but as has been proven in the past (MS and Bungie), nothing lasts forever. It's a strategy that benefits everyone involved though, that much is certain.

  • Mox #5 2 years ago

    Was that sincere, Dave?

  • Lee_Morris #6 2 years ago

    I'm pretty sure BabyJesus is right....*checking wiki*... yep their private page confirms they're an independent.

    Eurogamer = sigh

  • myiagros #7 2 years ago

    Makes sense, will alow media molecule to stay small, nimble and focused on game development, rather than having to handle the paper work and red tape tied to running a self contained company.

    Duties like admin, HR and testing can all be handed off to sony to deal with, and MM can benefit from the R&D of studios like naughty dog & sony santa monica.

  • Murton #8 2 years ago

    Makes sense really, Sony invested heavily in Media Molecule to produce LBP may as well bring them into the fold full time.

    Wonder if we'll see this happen with some of their other working partnerships, Quantic Dreams perhaps.

  • MiniAmin #9 2 years ago

    Umm you do know what "pederast" means right? Or was that a freudian slip?

  • karooo #10 2 years ago

    QD pleaaasee heavy rain 2 :D

  • bmxbandit #11 2 years ago

    Lets all insult Sony, the one company that stays true to it's developers ... unlike Microsoft.

    Hey PC fans, whats that Alan Wake rig dedicated to now? lol

  • smelly #12 2 years ago

    SHARXTREME : Whereas i agree with you in part.. sony hasnt exactly had a good track record recently where it comes to shutting down projects and studios.

  • bad09 #13 2 years ago

    Sony bought them? So MM will become a LBP factory for years then be chucked away.

    / is still bitter over poor Psygnosis

  • captain_Carl #14 2 years ago

    I came to say what BabyJesus said. Fail EG.

    On another note, conflabulations to MM. Awesome developers :)
    Edited by 1 at 02/03/10 @ 18:12

  • spiritsnake #15 2 years ago

    MM will prosper,but plz no littlebigplanet 2. its not a game for sequals. better come up with a new and different game,imho.

  • toy_brain #16 2 years ago

    I suppose it makes sense. Sackboy is pretty much the Playstation's mascot now, or at least the closest thing it has to one, so this is the ideal way of making sure he isn't about to go gadding off to another format.

  • GamesConnoisseur #17 2 years ago

    Seem companies mostly care about the IP and copyrights, just look at EA who acquires then few years later closes down the company when going get tough. There are many more examples as well.

    If we fast forward Civilization conquest result graphs, I expect that it ll look like pacmans party!

    Still on the other hand, how would MM survives in the tough to please world? And LBP is very central to playstation so a comfy relationship. Just a matter of timing what with developments at Studio Liverpool.

  • PlugMonkey #18 2 years ago

    I don't want Little Big Planet 2. I want Media Molecule's next game.

  • a8a #19 2 years ago

    @SHARXTREME

    Excuse the pedantry, but I think you are getting confused by the terminology used. Technically, there is no such thing as a "second party" developer. First party and third party are used in this sense in the same way that first person and third person are used to describe points of view in a simple interaction. Simply put, the "first person" is the interacter, the "second person" is the interactee and the "third person" represents an independant observer not involved in the interaction. By this we can see that a "first party" developer is, quite simply, sony - or a company wholly owned by sony. A 3rd party developer is an independant developer. Technically, in this instance, a second party would be a platform consumer, rather than a developer at all.

    I don't think "not sony, but has close ties and/or contractual obligations to sony's platform" can be defined at all by this system.

  • Bennicus #20 2 years ago

    lol u r such idiot lol

  • alcides #21 2 years ago

    I don't see Microsoft and Nintendo doing that, why aren't they? Nintendo used to do it a lot early in the GBA years, but now... It's a good thing, probably, that we get exclusives on every console, that make them special.

  • NotSoSlim #22 2 years ago

    Think Sharxtreme is right lol

  • Stoatboy #23 2 years ago

    @smelly: Nonsense. I think you'll find Sony have an excellent record of shutting down projects and studios. ;P

  • zedzee #24 2 years ago

    "Since Sony were happy to pay me sh*t loads of money for my little company and my little game, I was happy to take the cash and bend over backwards." said Alex Evans, co-founder of Media Molecule.

    Greed. What a sell out.

  • darkmorgado #25 2 years ago

    TBH, I'd rather they acquire adequate bug testers to throughly test the 3rd-party components they use in their devices.

  • old_skool #26 2 years ago

    RARE used to be considered a 2nd party developer, when they were partly owned by Nintendo, if I'm not mistaken...

  • alcides #27 2 years ago

    Well I for one, want a LittleBigPlanet 2, one that works in the creation mode when there are no reasons for it not to, for instance. One game that lets you see through layers while editing you level (this is a GLARING shortcoming in the first game). Anyone who's dug deep in the creation mode knows there's room for MAJOR improvement on that game in terms of functionality, bug fixing, visualization, and user interface.

  • Slipstream #28 2 years ago

    This should've happened moons ago, still, nice aquisition, a good move for both parties.