Sony Acquires Media Molecule

Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that it has acquired Media Molecule, the developer of the PlayStation 3 exclusive LittleBigPlanet. The company will now be part of the Worldwide Studios SCE organization, which oversees development process at Sony. Worldwide Studios allows developer studios to share technology and methods in order to make game creation possible easier and quicker.

Media Molecule was founded in 2006 by people who left Lionhead and is based in Guildford, Surrey, in the United Kingdom. Their very first project has been LittleBigPlanet, a platformer that also introduces powerful editors that allow all players to create their own levels and then share them with other gamers.

After the launch of the game, which was well received by reviewers and has sold more than 1 million copies, the company continued to offer regular downloadable content, mostly new costumes for the Sack Boy protagonist, and patches for LittleBigPlanet. It's not known whether Media Molecule is working on a new intellectual property.

Sony is seeing LittleBigPlanet as a template for a future family of games and it’s attempting to create a racing experience based on it with ModNation Racers, which will allow players to design their own tracks using a simple interface while also being able to fully customize their cars and drivers. The game is expected to arrive in 2010 exclusively on the PlayStation 3.

Shuhei Yoshida, the president of the Worldwide Studios of Sony Computer Entertainment, stated that “Since they burst onto the gaming scene, Media Molecule have proved to be a truly exciting and innovative studio, who have proved their world-class credentials with the creation of the incredible LittleBigPlanet. SCE WWS is all about creating ambitious, innovative and ground breaking games, traits that Media Molecule clearly have. To bring them into our family proves our dedication to creating fantastic new experiences that we believe will cement our position as industry leaders.”