TECH NEWS – Sony is looking to acquire a UK-based artificial intelligence company to expand its technical capabilities for its video and streaming services.

Sony announced the acquisition of iSIZE. It’s a UK-based company focusing on deep learning to serve up videos. Earlier this year, the company was reportedly considering acquisitions for PlayStation to strengthen its position in the industry. Especially amid Microsoft’s efforts to expand its gaming footprint. While Sony’s latest acquisition isn’t a studio, the move could indicate an exciting path for the company’s future in the gaming industry.

Of course, Sony’s ambitious plans are not limited to acquiring promising studios but also to its technical competence.

The PlayStation maker has often hinted that fans can expect more cloud gaming options. The CEO at the time even hinted at aggressive plans on this front. In August, Sony began beta testing 4K cloud gaming on the PS5. Offering players titles like God of War: Ragnarök, Horizon Forbidden West, Fortnite, Destiny 2 and a few more games to stream on its platform. Now, with the company’s latest announcement, it looks like Sony may be making good on its cloud gaming promise. Especially since interest in the segment is increasing.

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced in an official statement that it has acquired iSIZE, a UK-based company specializing in video deep learning. Although the price was not disclosed, the company giant claims that with the acquisition, the company has “significant expertise in applying machine learning to video processing.” The company expects this added expertise to bolster its R&D efforts along with video and streaming services.

While Sony didn’t elaborate on how it plans to build its technical capabilities through iSIZE, the company’s statement strongly suggests that PlayStation’s cloud games could get an update in the near future.

Sony’s growing investment in cloud gaming comes as no surprise. Especially after Microsoft recently closed its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The Xbox maker finally bought Activision Blizzard, which meant that its deals with Nvidia, Nintendo, Boosteroid and others came into play. Part of this means that Xbox and Activision Blizzard titles will become available on multiple platforms. Especially in cloud streaming. However, it remains to be seen how effective Sony’s own cloud gaming strategy will be. This likely won’t be the last time the company makes an acquisition to increase its technical competence.

Incidentally, the acquisition announcement took place only a few days after Bungie, owned by Sony, laid off around 100 employees.

The Destiny 2 developer is the fourth Sony-owned studio to go through layoffs in the same month. Naughty Dog, Visual Arts, and Media Molecule also laid off staff. Unfortunately, layoffs were all too common in the gaming industry in general in 2023. Even though the sector has shown promise in other areas, such as acquisitions and chart-topping game releases. In any case, time will tell how Sony navigates this space as it seeks to grow its footprint.

Source: SIE