PlayStation hires a director of enterprise development to help identify acquisition opportunities and strengthen its collection of first-party studios.
The move reflects a hiring announcement made by Xbox last week for a game strategy and development manager as both publishers seek to buy a growing number of developers.
As reported by the Video Games Chronicle, business analyst Robert Serrano discovered the job posting. The new director will lead Sony’s enterprise development team, which is responsible for “identifying inorganic growth opportunities through acquisitions, investments or joint ventures”.
Sony Interactive Entertainment (@PlayStation) seeks a Director, Corporate Development to be responsible for identifying inorganic growth opportunities through acquisitions, investments or joint ventures, attractive M&A and investment opportunities
> https://t.co/1GA7zkswbC pic.twitter.com/t3lgypADDx– Roberto Serrano ‘🇺🇦☮️🙏🏻 | 📊🎮🍿 (@ geronimo_73_) May 2, 2022
Sony is looking for someone with expertise in video games, and the candidate will not only help find and develop the initial opportunities, but also adapt them to Sony’s overall culture and work process to “drive significant long-term value for the company”.
In close collaboration with the senior management team, the new director will apparently be at the helm of PlayStation and its first-party studios, where the position promises “a chance to influence the development of this fast-paced sector.”
Although worded with less pizzazz, the candidate sought by Xbox will “develop and evaluate the business case for content and technology acquisitions,” and Microsoft’s post referred to the acquisition of Bethesda in 2020 and the planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard announced earlier this year.
PlayStation and Xbox have been locked in something of an acquisition race in recent years as both publishers have been pushing to expand their range of first-party studios.
Sony bought Bungie in February for $ 3.6 billion and in the past year has also bought several other studios, including Bluepoint and Housemarque. It has no intentions of slowing down as Sony Interactive Entertainment President Jim Ryan said earlier this month that it already has several acquisitions planned.
Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $ 68.7 billion, on the other hand, will be one of the biggest in entertainment history when the deal goes through, which puts it on par with Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox for $ 71.3 billion and just shy of AT & T’s acquisition of Time Warner for $ 85.4 billion.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He will talk about The Witcher all day.