Skip to main content

Quantic Dream will continue its love affair with Sony after ‘Beyond: Two Souls’

Beyond: Two Souls
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The days of the independent developer creating games exclusively for one console are very much on the wane – you need look no further that Wii U’s anemic library to confirm that developers want, even need, to try to reach as big an audience on as many platforms as possible to recoup the increasingly costly budgets for blockbuster AAA games. It just isn’t practical or realistic for most to stay with just one platform any longer, unless they are owned by that manufacturer. Bungie made headlines by announcing that it was leaving the confines of the Xbox in favor of multiplatform development for its new title, Destiny, and even Insomniac, who has developed games exclusively for Sony consoles since the 1990s, decided to partner with EA for the multiplatform shooter Fuse. And yet there is at least one prominent hold out: Quantic Dream. 

Recommended Videos

The developer of Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain has confirmed that it will remain independent, but will still create games exclusively for Sony. 

“We proved with Heavy Rain that we can be profitable by making a game for just one platform,” said Quantic Dream CEO Gillaume de Fondaumiere in an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine, “Would we have made more money by going multi-platform? Of course, but on the other hand, we wouldn’t be working with Sony as a publisher.”

The trade off, according to de Fondaumiere, is a level of creative freedom that Quantic Dream might not get if it were working with a one of the major publishers like Electronic Arts or Ubisoft. For example, Quantic Dream got in a heated disagreement with Sony over how Beyond would be marketed, the CEO told GameSpot. Sony’s marketing partners wanted the lead character played by Ellen Page to be holding a gun on the cover art, but Quantic “categorically refused” and ultimately Sony stood by its decision. That’s another reason that Quantic will stay a Sony-only developer for the time being.

“We’re certainly not going to change partner for the sake of making more money; that’s not the philosophy behind out studio. As long as we can create the games we want to create, we’ll stay with Sony.”

“Ever since we started our partnership, Sony just said it was going to give us the money to build these games and we said we were going to work as hard as we could and reward it for its trust.”

Beyond: Two Souls won’t be out until October, but Quantic Dream is already toying with Sony’s next console, the PlayStation 4. Quantic Dreams co-founder David Cage made an appearance at Sony’s February event announcing the new console, giving a rather peculiar demonstration of new facial animation on the new console. Rumor is that is impressive 2012 tech demo “Kara” will be the basis for its new PS3 game.

Anthony John Agnello
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
What is Wordle and how do you learn to play it?
Woman playing Wordle on her smartphone.

If you've seen those green squares flooding your social media feed or keep hearing your friends and family talk about keeping their Wordle streaks alive, you're probably curious what this game is that has the world hooked. Wordle hit the mainstream in 2022 and has since become part of most people's daily routine. What makes it so addictive is how challenging it can be to solve a puzzle, which makes it important to know the best Wordle starting words or to check out some Wordle answers and hints for any given day's game. Wordle isn't as complicated as Connections, Strands, NYT Crossword, or the Mini Crossword, but it is a little tricky if you've never played it before. I'll go over all the rules and information you need to become a Wordle pro in no time.

What is Wordle?

Read more
I wasn’t a fan of Mario Kart World’s free roam mode until I changed my perspective
Daisy rides a jetski in Mario Kart World.

Long before Mario Kart World was announced, I theorized what Nintendo's next spin on the franchise would be. Mario Kart 8 introduced anti-gravity, and Mario Kart 7 brought us hang gliders, so I was curious what angles were left to explore that would keep the core kart racing experience intact. As we know now, that turned out to be one giant interconnected map that players are free to explore with no boundaries or time limits.

As interesting as that idea was on paper, I remained a little skeptical due to the lack of details Nintendo gave about what exactly I would be doing in this world. The last trailers showed off a few challenges and collectibles, but I wasn't convinced that was enough to justify the new open-world design. My first week with the game only reinforced that feeling. However, I realized my own expectations were at fault -- not the game -- and have come to appreciate Mario Kart World's world for what it is.

Read more
3 new PlayStation Plus games to play this weekend (June 20-22)
A crew in FBC: Firebreak.

More and more I am finding myself getting more excited for the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game announcements than the Essential ones. It always varies, but months like this are some of my favorites. We are getting treated to a day one release, a ton of sleeper hits that didn't get enough attention, and one influential PS2 classic that is great to have available as a PS5 game. Today also just so happens to be the first day of summer, so what better time than now to close the curtains, crank up the AC, and play some great games courtesy of PS Plus? This is my hand-picked selection of PlayStation Plus games you need to play this weekend.

FBC: Firebreak

Read more