Sony explains how Stray and other third-party games found support

Though much of PlayStation’s success has come from its stable of first-party games, it has also benefitted from third-party titles that receive Sony’s support. In an interview with Boardroom, Shawne Benson, who is the global head of third-party portfolio and acquisitions, shed some light on how some of these deals come about.

A typical workday will include meetings with prospective partners. During these meetings, it’s not just the quality of the games that’s considered. The team also has to ask whether the titles resonate with the PlayStation brand and appeal to its audience.

By the end of it, if a partnership is established, “it doesn’t always end with a traditional deal.” Some partners are disappointed by this because they think it means that the game isn’t good. However, that’s not the case at all.

One of the notable success stories when it comes to PlayStation supporting third-party teams is Stray. Released in 2022, the cyberpunk game has you playing as a cat trying to find its way home. According to Benson, PlayStation’s “team worked really closely with Annapurna Interactive and the development team behind it, BlueTwelve Studio” and guided them on how to make the most of the DualSense controller.

This guidance is important, as haptics give a layer of immersion when it comes to playing as a cat and feeling sensations such as a purr. Though PlayStation’s team, which consists of 11 people, provides their input, they are sure to not tell partners how to make their games. They “just give them tips and tricks on how to be best on PlayStation.”

While on the PS Plus catalog, Stray has “brought in the highest number of players that have accessed that title over the first 12 months” according to Nick Maguire, who is PlayStation’s vice president and global head of subscriptions. Several other titles have received support from Sony with successful results, including games like Kena: Bridge of Spirits.