Skip to main content

Sony’s latest studio acquisition is big news for PC gamers

Sony acquired another new company today, although not one you may have heard of. In a tweet, the head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, announced that Dutch studio Nixxes Software will be joining PlayStation Studios.

The company lives in relative obscurity because it hasn’t actually made any games itself. Instead, Nixxes specializes in, according to its About Us page, “video game design, development, and porting,” with a big focus on that last part.

Recommended Videos

Nixxes has played a role in various platform ports of multiple games, including Shadow of the Tomb RaiderTomb Raider, and Deux Ex: Mankind Divided, each of which it helped port to PC. The studio also played a role in converting Rise of the Tomb Raider to Xbox One X and is involved with Marvel’s Avengers, although it doesn’t say in what capacity.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Sony acquiring a studio known for its PC ports leads to some pretty interesting assumptions. The tech giant has already made it clear that it intends to bring more PlayStation games to PC, with Horizon: Zero Dawn and Days Gone already making their way over to the platform. However, acquiring an entire studio that specializes in that task is a large investment and points toward a greater push from Sony to get its games on PC, perhaps even faster. Horizon Zero Dawn hit PCs in August 2020, over three years after its original release date in February 2017. Likewise, Days Gone launched on PC in May, just over two years after it first hit the PlayStation 4 in April 2019.

Sony’s purchase of Nixxes comes just days after it acquired Returnal developer Housemarque. “Housemarque’s recent release of Returnal proves the studio is one with incredible vision, capable of creating memorable new games that resonate with our community,” said Hulst.

Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
After years of server issues, LittleBigPlanet 3 is being delisted
A sackboy with glasses pulling on green thread with another guy standing next to him.

Cutesy, but ill-fated, platformer LittleBigPlanet 3 and all its DLC are being delisted by the end of October, its developers announced Tuesday. If you never got around to playing this 2014 gem, you have only a few weeks to get it before it's gone.

The official X (formerly Twitter) account posted a message saying that the PlayStation 4 version of the nearly 10-year-old game now on the PlayStation Store will be removed on October 31. Current owners can still access it after it's been removed, which includes those who acquired it through PS Plus back in 2017.

Read more
A Horizon online game is reportedly in the works ahead of Forbidden West follow-up
Aloy standing in front of the Hollywood sign in Horizon Forbidden West.

The Horizon series is seemingly everywhere right now, with Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and Lego Horizon Adventures on the way, and there's more in the pipeline beyond just the expected third entry in the main series. Bloomberg video game reporter Jason Schreier reports that the next franchise game won't be that third game, but rather an online project that "a lot of people" are working on.

"Horizon online is their next project not whatever the third single-player game looks like, so that one might be a ways off," Schreier said on the Spawn Wave podcast over the weekend. The conversation starts at around 54:27.

Read more
After Freedom Wars, this PlayStation Vita classic deserves a remaster
Soul Sacrifice Delta's key art.

If there’s one thing that the PlayStation Vita delivered, it was great Monster Hunter clones after Capcom’s hit series jumped ship from PSP to Nintendo 3DS. The list included games like Koei Tecmo’s Toukiden, Bandai Namco’s God Eater, and Gungho’s Ragnarok Odyssey Ace. While these mission-based games were perfect fit for the Vita’s pick-up-and-play lifestyle, they were also available on PS3.

Sony Japan even joined into the fray with the 2015 Vita exclusive Freedom Wars, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a remaster on modern platforms next January, courtesy of Bandai Namco. On the heels of that surprise announcement, there’s one other hunting action game that needs to break free from the Vita’s shackles: Soul Sacrifice Delta. It's an enhanced version of 2013's Soul Sacrifice that added more content and gameplay adjustments.
Grimdark Archfiend hunter
Soul Sacrifice Delta was released in 2014 and designed by Keiji Inafune (yes, the auteur behind the infamous Mighty No. 9). It plays like how you’d expect from a Monster Hunter-like action game. You can hunt down your main target and hit its weak points to gather materials and create stronger weapons. It’s an engaging gameplay loop that makes sure you’re always prepared to fight increasingly stronger monsters.

Read more