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Sony opens new studio, ForwardWorks, to develop mobile games for Asian markets

Using PlayStation characters for "fully-fledged titles"

Sony opens new studio, ForwardWorks, to develop mobile games for Asian markets

Sony Computer Entertainment looks to have taken note of Nintendo's move into the smartphone market, as it is opening a new studio specifically to design games for mobile.

Named ForwardWorks, the studio will be making use of current PlayStation brands to create "fully-fledged game titles" on Android and iOS in Japan and Asia.

Atsushi Morita, current president of SCE Japan and Asia, will act as director of the new studio, with SCE president Andrew House and SCE Japan and Asia's Vice President Hiroshi Ueda acting as members of the board.

Shifting focus

Sony Computer Entertainment will also be renaming to Sony Interactive Entertainment on the same date, most likely as a reflection of its branching out into new markets.

The move is not a particular surprise, especially given the early success of Nintendo's Miitomo, which was downloaded over a million times in Japan in its first three days alone.

It also shows that SCE is paying attention to the shifting mobile gaming market, after having shuttered its premium-only PlayStation Mobile service in March 2015.


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Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.