Sony is investing multiple billions to foster new content from the ground up, aiming to expand its foothold in video games, films, and anime, as revealed by its CFO, Hiroki Totoki, to Financial Times.
While Sony has successfully leveraged existing popular franchises, Totoki believes in creating content from scratch and its importance in the company's growth and higher returns, and he does make an excellent point.
Sony has created and fostered numerous game franchises since their inception. But many of these IPs have remained dormant for years, and for a good reason—they don't sell particularly well. It's not like Sony hasn't tried either. Sackboy: A Big Adventure and MediEvil were all decent attempts that failed to move the financial needle.
Further complicating the situation are the new priorities of Sony's first-party studios, the very same people who created the franchises that many feel Sony has abandoned over the years.
Insomniac Games, once known for franchises like Resistance and Ratchet & Clank, is now heavily invested in developing PlayStation's version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Guerrilla Games has shown little interest in reviving the Killzone series, instead focusing on the Horizon franchise. Sucker Punch Productions, creators of Sly Cooper and Infamous, have found greater success with Ghost of Tsushima.