The shake-up of the multi-billion-pound video game industry could see Sony split off its Playstation arm into a separate business, a report claims.
Experts at research house Enders Analysis said the Japanese tech and media giant would be ‘forced to respond’ to mergers sweeping the industry, particularly Microsoft’s £55billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, which is being scrutinised by regulators around the world.
Enders predicted Sony, whose video game production arm Playstation Studios has released titles such as God of War and Spider-Man, could snap up another studio to take on Microsoft if a merger goes through.
Shake-up: Playstation Studios, which has released titles such as Spiderman (pictured). could buy another studio if Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision goes through
It highlighted US studios Electronic Arts, publisher of Call of Duty competitor Battlefield, and Take-Two Interactive as swoop targets
But the analysts warned such a large purchase would ‘fundamentally alter’ Sony’s business model and make it more reliant on its dominant gaming arm.
‘Spinning Playstation out as a separate company cannot be ruled out,’ Enders said.
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