How PlayStation's Acquisitions Could Boost Its First-Party Games - Beyond 729

On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation podcast, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Jada Griffin, Matt Kim, and Mark Medina to discuss the latest news in the world of PS4 and PS5 games, consoles, and more. First, the cast breaks down PlayStation's official unveiling of new DualSense colors and the first official PS5 faceplate covers in new colors, so your massive console doesn't only have to come in white. We discuss what we think this means for future PS5 looks, how it could affect PlayStation's work on specialty consoles for releases like God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man 2, and more, and if we actually are going to buy them.

Plus, we dig into PlayStation's fifth studio acquisition for the year, and how PlayStation's acquisitions could boost its first-party games. We dive into what we think of Sony's strategy this year of acquiring studios, how they both allow for new games and support of the games of other first-party studios, like Santa Monica's God of War Ragnarok, and what we think of the general approach the studio's taking to impact first-party development for PS4 and PS5.

We also look into the improving relationship of PlayStation with its indie partners, and discuss what we've been playing ahead of the holidays, including Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Fortnite, Dark Souls, and the Matrix Unreal Engine 5 experience, which we think bodes well for the future of next-gen games designed in UE5.