[SAN FRANCISCO] Sony on Thursday added Bluepoint Games to its stable of PlayStation studios, looking to crank out titles for its hot-selling consoles and keep its lead over rival Xbox.

Sony did not disclose financial terms of the deal to acquire Texas-based Bluepoint, a studio known for hit remakes of video games including Demon's Souls and Uncharted.

Bluepoint's remake of action role-playing game Demon's Souls, originally tailored for PlayStation 3, launched with the latest version of the console and sold 1.4 million copies, according to Sony.

"We've been partners with PlayStation for many years," Bluepoint president Marco Thrush said in a video posted on Twitter.

"We believe this will empower Bluepoint to create even more incredible, impactful games for PlayStation Games."

While known as a master at remaking beloved old games, Bluepoint's latest project was said to be an "ambitious" original title.

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More than 10 million PlayStation 5 consoles have been snapped up around the world since they hit the market in November of last year, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment.

In August, PS5 remained the fastest selling PlayStation in the company's history, according to market tracker NPD Group.

Sony has been under pressure to deliver new games to play, while the pandemic has caused titles to be delayed.

Sony has been adding to its stable of game studios in recent months, buying Finnish developer Housemarque in June and Britain-based Firesprite in June.

In-house studios allow PlayStation to make titles exclusively for Sony consoles, keeping at bay rival Xbox made by Microsoft, which has its own stable of studios.

Nearly 12 million PS5 consoles were sold by the end of August, compared to 7.3 million of the latest generation of Xbox consoles, according to specialty website VGChartz.

AFP