Sony Acquires Motorstorm Studio

Sony acquires Evolution Studios and its subsidiary Bigbig, the teams behind Motorstorm and Pursuit Force.

Sony announced the acquisitions of two major third-party companies, Evolution Studios and its subsidiary Bigbig Studios, and their merger into SCE's Worldwide Studios. Evolution Studios, based in Runcorn, England, and is responsible for producing the PlayStation 3's Motorstorm racing series and are currently developing its sequel due out in 2008, as well as a downloadable port of the original to the PlayStation Network. Bigbig Studios, located in Leamington Spa, England, was co-founded in 2001 by Evolution Studios and SCE and has developed Pursuit Force for the PlayStation Portable, which has sold over 800,000 copies worldwide. Mick Hocking, Managing Director of Evolution Studios, will be appointed Group Studio Director for the three Studios (SCE Worldwide Studios Liverpool Studio, Evolution and Bigbig), reporting directly to SCE Worldwide Studios Vice President Michael Denny.

"Our strategy is to create the best games by working with the best talent and Evolution and Bigbig are world-class additions to our team. The incredible people in these studios further extend the depth and skill of the industry's largest platform-exclusive development resource," said Phil Harrison, President of SCE Worldwide Studios.