When Sony released its latest version of Astro Bot last year it allowed gamers playing as the cute white robot to unlock bots in various guises, from the fungus-infected zombie in The Last of Us to the knife-wielding mercenary seen in Metal Gear Solid.
The merging of characters — intended to celebrate the 30-year history of the PlayStation console — is symbolic of an accelerating multibillion-dollar effort to squeeze more out of the Japanese tech giant’s vast gaming empire.
According to interviews with more than 10 of Sony’s top games executives, designers and studio founders, the company is trying to balance creation and control in a business that is central to the Tokyo-based group’s strategy.
Sony is seeking to ensure that its “first-party studios” — 20 standalone groups that make games exclusively for its PlayStation console — contribute more to overall revenue growth and take measured risks, all without squashing the independence each studio demands to produce hits.