Sony Interactive Entertainment is definitely starting 2019 on a high note. Yesterday, the console manufacturer and game publisher revealed that the PS4 has sold nearly 92 million units. Today, they announced plans to acquire Audiokinetic, a company described by Sony Interactive Entertainment as a “leading global provider of cross-platform solutions for the gaming and interactive media industries” and creator of Wwise.
The acquisition is expected to close on January 31. On that day, Audiokinetic will officially be a Sony Interactive Entertainment subsidiary. While they won’t be producing games like Naughty Dog or Sucker Punch, the Montreal-based company will now be directly lending its audio engineering skills to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s games while also receiving more funding to innovate and create new sound based technology.
Somewhat surprisingly, this acquisition won’t mean that Audiokinetic is locked into solely supporting PlayStation platforms. As I mentioned before, Audiokinetic created Wwise, a middleware program that many games use to optimize sound, so it makes sense not to cut off support for a tool used in over 500 games last year.
Martin Klein, President and CEO of Audiokinetic, seems excited about what this acquisition will mean for Audiokinetic. In addition to working more directly on a “platform level” with Sony Interactive Entertainment, this acquisition will give them access to “greater resources to continue innovating, expanding our market and enhancing our technology.” Overall, this should result in a net benefit for all of Audiokinetic’s current partners.
On Sony Interactive Entertainment’s side of things, President and CEO John Kodera also seemed quite enthusiastic about acquiring Audiokinetic in his own statement:
“A rich and all-encompassing audio experience is increasingly critical to the overall gameplay experience, further enhancing immersion and emotion for the player. Audiokinetic is a preeminent provider of audio solutions for the gaming industry, and we are confident that this acquisition will allow us to further grow the PlayStation platform and contribute to the broader gaming industry. It’s our goal to support Audiokinetic’s efforts to advance its audio technology while maintaining independence and platform neutrality.”
Posted:
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum
Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/sony-interactive-entertainment-acquires-audiokinetic-wwise/
"Sony Interactive Entertainment to Acquire Wwise Creator Audiokinetic" :: Login/Create an Account :: 1 comment