Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) revealed its next big gaming partnership, and it’s with a somewhat unexpected company. The game developer and publisher in question is NCSoft, a Korean company best known for its work on MMO series, namely Guild Wars and Lineage.
According to a press release, the two companies have entered into a partnership that enables them to “collaborate in various global business fields, including mobile.” We asked Sony if the phrasing of “various global business fields” also applied to console games, but a representative for the company said it doesn’t have anything else to share on that front currently.
For Sony, this is the latest in a string of gaming partnerships, including acquiring iSize. Although this isn’t an acquisition, from Sony’s perspective, it seems that NCSoft’s mobile experience is appealing. It’s a market Sony clearly wants to establish a firmer hold in now that Microsoft owns Candy Crush developer King. Jim Ryan, Son Interactive Entertainment’s outgoing president and CEO, says this partnership aims to “expand beyond console and broaden PlayStation’s reach to a wider audience.”
Representing NCSoft, President and CEO Taekjin Kim had the following to say: “This partnership with SIE is the beginning of our efforts to build various synergies together, utilizing both companies’ core competencies, technological capabilities, and expertise. We will deliver a new and enjoyable experience to our audience across and beyond genres and regions.”
As this partnership has just begun, we don’t have any specifics on PlayStation mobile titles that are currently in the works. However, expect NCSoft to have a notable role in their development and release of these mobile games whenever they finally arrive.
