PlayStation’s next acquisition is revealed but it’s not what you’d expect
PlayStation has splashed the cash again, acquiring video delivery AI company iSize which it hopes will provide "significant expertise in applying machine learning to video processing".
03rd Nov 2023 12:20
Sony
PlayStation’s next acquisition is revealed but it’s not what you’d expect
PlayStation has splashed the cash again, acquiring video delivery AI company iSize which it hopes will provide "significant expertise in applying machine learning to video processing".
03rd Nov 2023 12:20
Sony
Gaming acquisitions may not get any bigger than Microsoft's deal to buy Activision-Blizzard, but Sony has been busy, too.
PlayStation has acquired Destiny developer Bungie, Jade Raymond's Haven Studios, and legendary remake developer Bluepoint Games in recent years, and it's lined up its next big purchase with iSize, a UK-based AI company.
PlayStation to acquire UK-based AI company
iSize leverages AI to shrink bitrate for streamed video content, potentially allowing for more consistent video or streamed gaming. Maybe it'll pair nicely with the PlayStation Portal?
"We are thrilled to announce that Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (“SIE”) has entered into an agreement to acquire iSIZE, a UK-based company specializing in deep learning for video delivery," Ueli Gallizzi, SVP, Future Technology Group at Sony Interactive Entertainment explained via Sony's press site.
"iSIZE builds AI-powered solutions to deliver bitrate savings and quality improvements for the media and entertainment industry. The acquisition provides SIE with significant expertise in applying machine learning to video processing, which will benefit a range of our R&D efforts as well as our video and streaming services."
"Founded in 2016 and based in London, iSIZE has a team of talented engineers and technical experts who have developed a suite of software solutions to optimize video. For example, the company built an AI-based perceptual preprocessing solution that allows conventional, third-party encoders to produce higher quality video at a significantly lower bitrate."
Sony has long believed in the promise of cloud-based gaming, acquiring Gaikai back in 2012 to help power cloud features of the upcoming PlayStation 4.
The acquisition cost of iSize is undisclosed, but follows layoffs at Media Molecule and Bungie in recent weeks.
Away from Sony, Microsoft has positioned Cloud gaming as a pillar of its Xbox Game Pass service, and cloud gaming rights became a hot topic as part of the Activision Blizzard acquisition - meaning Ubisoft now owns the streaming rights for Activision Blizzard's titles. What a world, eh?
About The Author
Lloyd Coombes
Lloyd is GGRecon's Editor-in-Chief, having previously worked at Dexerto and Gfinity, and occasionally appears in The Daily Star newspaper. A big fan of loot-based games including Destiny 2 and Diablo 4, when he's not working you'll find him at the gym or trying to play Magic The Gathering.
