Sony has acquired game development studio Media Molecule, a start-up company that brought mounds of success to the Playstation 3 with its first title, LittleBigPlanet.
“Since they burst onto the gaming scene, Media Molecule have proved to be a truly exciting and innovative studio,” said Shuhei Yoshia, the head of Sony’s gaming unit. “To bring them into our family proves our dedication to creating fantastic new experiences that we believe will cement our position as industry leaders.”
The small UK-based studio was already an exclusive developer for Sony (i.e., a “second-party” company) but now it becomes a fully owned subsidiary of the electronics giant. No further projects beyond LittleBigPlanet have been announced by the developer.
LittleBigPlanet has sold over a million copies in the US alone, and more than two million levels have been created with the game’s compelling create-your-own-level tool. Players can design their own levels in the game and share them online for others to play. A portable version of the game for the PSP came out last year, to a much more lukewarm reception.
Financial terms of the acquisition deal were not disclosed.
