Sony CFO divulges plan to ‘aggressively’ invest in first-party software

I don’t like to fan the flames of the so-called console war but it’s no secret that Microsoft have invested very aggressively to expand their first-party studios. The Bethesda acquisition is the mammoth example but far from the only studio(s) acquired. Sony’s CFO has divulged plans that they also plan to aggressively invest in their first-party lineup. 

Speaking in a conference call with investors (transcribed by VGC), Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki revealed the company’s plans:

“We intend to increase development personnel and other in-house costs by approximately 20bn yen [$183m] year-on-year, as we further strengthen our in-house software.”

“To enhance our software offering, we intend to continue investing in partnering with external studios, in addition to aggressively investing in our in-house studios.”

Given the figure reported, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing an acquisition near the magnitude of Microsoft’s Bethesda acquisition but there’s plenty of talented studios out there who can benefit from some of that investment.