Sony Working on New PlayStation Platform for Free-to-Play Mobile Games, Job Listing Reveals

Sony seems to be working on a new platform for free-to-play mobile games, according to details revealed via a PlayStation job listing. The job listing for the role of a Mobile Platform Architect mentions that the position requires designing PlayStation’s platform for “developing, publishing, and operating free-to-play mobile games.” The development comes after Microsoft announced that it would launch an Xbox mobile store in July.

The PlayStation job listing, spotted by TweakTown, reveals some details about Sony’s plans for mobile gaming. According to the listing, PlayStation Studios Mobile is seeking an experienced software engineer, who would lead the design and implementation of Sony’s mobile games platform. The individual would also have to work with internal teams to connect mobile games to existing PlayStation services.

The listing also mentions the responsibilities of the role. The individual would have to “design the system architecture and backend services for the mobile games platform” and “actively track technical innovations, changes, and trends affecting mobile game development.”

Further, Sony is seeking someone experienced in designing APIs or related SDKs and possessing working knowledge of game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine.

The PlayStation parent has not yet officially announced its plans for a platform for free-to-play mobile games. The company, however, has reportedly been working on bringing some of its most popular PlayStation titles to mobile. In a presentation last year, the company had reportedly said that many of its internal studios were working on mobile games. In the presentation, Sony said that it expected mobile games to account for almost 5 percent of its games portfolio in 2023, with the share projected to go up to 10 percent by 2025.

Sony’s rival Microsoft has been making movies in the mobile gaming space, too. Last year, the Xbox parent completed its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard King; King is the developer and publisher of popular mobile games like Candy Crush Saga and Farm Heroes Saga.

Earlier this month, Microsoft also announced that it plans to launch its long-awaited Xbox mobile gaming store in July, where it will offer its portfolio of first-party mobile games like Candy Crush and Minecraft.