Sony Group

Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Parent company of Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation gaming business). Non-gaming divisions (Sony Pictures, Sony Music, Sony Electronics) are excluded from the Atlas gaming graph.

• Type: Publisher · Buyer
• Headquarters: Japan
• Data updated: 5 Nov 2026

Key facts

• According to Games Atlas analysis of shipped-game credits, Sony Group published or developed 398 games released 2015–2026 (+55 as distributor or contractor).
• Games Atlas data shows 118 of 196 Sony Group titles with known production credits (60%) used external service partners.
• The discipline Sony Group outsources most is Audio design and production services: 74 of 74 credited titles.
• The most frequent external partner on Sony Group titles is Arrival (Formosa Interactive) (27 shared credits, 2015–2026).
• Kept in-house according to the credits: Lead & co-development.
• Games Atlas tracked 182 news stories about Sony Group in the last 24 months.

What Sony Group outsources and how open it is to new partners

The verdict rates how hard it is for a new vendor to win work in each discipline, from how much work goes outside, how concentrated it is among incumbents, and how often new partners entered in the last three years.

• Publishing: Closed: kept in-house. 21 of 382 credited titles used external partners (5%); 16 external partners, largest Koei Tecmo Games (29% of outsourced volume); 4 outsourced and 5 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• Lead & co-development: Closed: kept in-house. 10 of 144 credited titles used external partners (7%); 10 external partners, largest Pyramid (17% of outsourced volume); 2 outsourced and 4 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• Audio design and production services: Low barrier: regularly onboards new partners. 74 of 74 credited titles used external partners (100%); 77 external partners, largest Side UK (11% of outsourced volume); 17 outsourced and 15 new partners since 2023. Confidence: high.
• Art, assets and fonts production services: Low barrier: regularly onboards new partners. 66 of 66 credited titles used external partners (100%); 120 external partners, largest Original Force (6% of outsourced volume); 16 outsourced and 30 new partners since 2023. Confidence: high.
• Additional development & engineering: Low barrier: regularly onboards new partners. 25 of 36 credited titles used external partners (69%); 31 external partners, largest 3Lateral (12% of outsourced volume); 7 outsourced and 12 new partners since 2023. Confidence: medium.
• Porting services: Moderate barrier: open to newcomers, few slots. 15 of 23 credited titles used external partners (65%); 13 external partners, largest Halo Studios (19% of outsourced volume); 4 outsourced and 1 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• Motion capture services: Moderate barrier: open to newcomers, few slots. 22 of 22 credited titles used external partners (100%); 15 external partners, largest Epic Games Animation UK (Cubic Motion) (14% of outsourced volume); 4 outsourced and 1 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• Localisation services: Moderate barrier: open to newcomers, few slots. 9 of 13 credited titles used external partners (69%); 7 external partners, largest Frognation (30% of outsourced volume); 2 outsourced and 1 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.
• QA and testing services: Low barrier: regularly onboards new partners. 12 of 12 credited titles used external partners (100%); 10 external partners, largest Lionbridge Games (27% of outsourced volume); 7 outsourced and 5 new partners since 2023. Confidence: medium.
• Casting services: Moderate barrier: open to newcomers, few slots. 11 of 11 credited titles used external partners (100%); 7 external partners, largest Arrival (Formosa Interactive) (25% of outsourced volume); 2 outsourced and 1 new partners since 2023. Confidence: low.

External partners proven by shipped credits

• Arrival (Formosa Interactive) — Audio design and production services, Casting services, Storytelling and narrative services, 27 shared credits, 2015–2026
• Side UK — Audio design and production services, Casting services, 26 shared credits, 2015–2026
• Original Force — Art, assets and fonts production services, Storytelling and narrative services, 25 shared credits, 2016–2026
• Virtuos — Art, assets and fonts production services, Audio design and production services, Porting services, 24 shared credits, 2015–2025
• Red Hot CG — Art, assets and fonts production services, 20 shared credits, 2015–2026
• Monotype — Art, assets and fonts production services, 19 shared credits, 2016–2024
• XPEC Art Center — Art, assets and fonts production services, 19 shared credits, 2015–2024
• 3Lateral — Art, assets and fonts production services, Additional development & engineering, 15 shared credits, 2015–2024
• Epic Games Animation UK (Cubic Motion) — Art, assets and fonts production services, Motion capture services, 15 shared credits, 2015–2024
• Passion Republic — Art, assets and fonts production services, 13 shared credits, 2015–2026
• Lemon Sky Studios — Art, assets and fonts production services, Storytelling and narrative services, 13 shared credits, 2015–2024
• Microsoft — Publishing, Storytelling and narrative services, 11 shared credits, 2015–2021
• AC Create — Audio design and production services, 10 shared credits, 2018–2024
• Hyperbolic Audio — Audio design and production services, 10 shared credits, 2016–2026
• Xbox Game Studios — Art, assets and fonts production services, Additional development & engineering, Porting services, Publishing, Storytelling and narrative services, 10 shared credits, 2015–2020
• Koei Tecmo Games — Audio design and production services, Lead & co-development, Publishing, 10 shared credits, 2017–2026
• Sweet Justice Sound — Audio design and production services, 9 shared credits, 2020–2026
• MIT Studio — Audio design and production services, 9 shared credits, 2020–2024
• Mindwalk Studios — Art, assets and fonts production services, 9 shared credits, 2016–2026
• Karakter Design Studio — Art, assets and fonts production services, 9 shared credits, 2017–2026
• Glass Egg — Art, assets and fonts production services, Storytelling and narrative services, 9 shared credits, 2016–2024
• ADIA Studios — Art, assets and fonts production services, 8 shared credits, 2015–2023
• Dhruva Interactive — Art, assets and fonts production services, 8 shared credits, 2016–2021
• Ryzin Art — Art, assets and fonts production services, 8 shared credits, 2016–2024
• Goodbye Kansas Studios — Art, assets and fonts production services, Motion capture services, 8 shared credits, 2018–2024
• Lakshya Digital — Art, assets and fonts production services, Additional development & engineering, 7 shared credits, 2015–2026
• Axis Productions Limited — Art, assets and fonts production services, Trailers, cinematics and cut-scenes Production services, 7 shared credits, 2015–2022
• Mood Visuals — Art, assets and fonts production services, 7 shared credits, 2018–2026
• Kudos Productions — Art, assets and fonts production services, 7 shared credits, 2017–2024
• Supermassive Games — Lead & co-development, 7 shared credits, 2015–2018

Latest related news

• Bungie revives Destiny 2 catalog on a frozen live-ops budget (2026-09-22)
• Ken Kutaragi says multi-thousand-person blockbuster development has become almost impossible (2026-10-28)
• Sucker Punch cuts 24 jobs months after Ghost of Yotei tops 3.3 million sales (2026-10-26)
• Microsoft projects $1,200-$1,800 Project Helix price as AI race squeezes console subsidies (2026-10-20)
• Bungie co-founder Alex Seropian launches Drifters on Roblox, targeting 18+ players (2026-10-20)
• Sony and Take-Two CEOs deny AI replaces creativity, citing backward-looking data (2026-10-20)
• Drake Star reports $2.4bn gaming M&A across 45 deals in Q3 2026 (2026-10-14)
• Bungie's Josh Deane teases Destiny 1 remaster, fueling PC port speculation (2026-10-13)

Group structure

• Aniplex (Publisher)
• Sony Interactive Entertainment (Publisher)
• SN Systems (Technology Provider)
• SCE Connected Content Group (Developer)
• Prokion (Developer)
• Future Technology Group (Other)
• ForwardWorks (Developer)
• CloverWorks (Service Provider)
• Evolution Studios (Developer)
• Sony Pictures Studios (Service Provider)
• Sony Pictures Consumer Products (IP Licensor)
• TriStar Pictures (Other)
• Live2D (Technology Provider)
• Columbia Pictures (IP Licensor)
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Hong Kong (Publisher)
• Studio Liverpool (Developer)
• PlayStation Studios Malaysia (Service Provider)
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Taiwan (Distributor)
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Korea (Service Provider)
• PlayStation Studios Visual Arts (Service Provider)
• PlayStation Cambridge Studio (Developer)
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Mexico (Distributor)
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Shanghai (Publisher)
• Firewalk Studios (Developer)
• Pixelopus (Developer)

Methodology

Source: Games Atlas (gamesatlas.app), based on MobyGames production credits for games released from 2015 onwards and Games Atlas analysis. One game counts once regardless of platforms or editions. Games Atlas does not estimate revenue or report the performance of individual games. Profile: https://gamesatlas.app/companies/sony-group