PlayStation Studios is hiring for a new Head of Mobile, a senior position who will lead the development and strategy of PlayStation’s mobile games, and adapt some of the company’s most popular franchises to mobile.In a job listing shared on the game forum ResetEra, the PlayStation Studios Head of Mobile job will be based out of San Mateo, California, and “promote the vision, mission, strategy for mobile game development within PlayStation Studios,” according to the listing.
“As Head of Mobile, you will own and develop the mobile games strategy for PlayStation Studios and help build a foundation for future growth opportunities.” Besides expanding mobile game development the job requires “a focus on successfully adapting PlayStation’s most popular franchises for mobile.”
The listing also says the new Head of Mobile will work with the PlayStation Studios Leadership Team to develop a product roadmap for a “3 – 5-year time frame,” so any new mobile products likely won’t be released immediately under this position.
Mobile gaming is a huge, multi-billion dollar sector in gaming and the largest game companies are already occupying this space with varying degrees of success. Of the major console makers, Nintendo is one of the more successful companies operating on mobile thanks to partnerships with developers like Niantic who’ve made hit games like Pokemon Go and are working on a Pikmin AR title.
Third-party publishers like Activision are also seeing major hits with mobile versions of Call of Duty Meanwhile Blizzard is looking to expand into mobile as well with several projects for the platform in the works.
Sony recently announced it will close the PSN Store on the PlayStation Vita, its dedicated handheld gaming system. But with the power of smartphones, PlayStation may be looking to mobile as a new avenue for handheld gaming.
It also remains to be seen what kind of games exactly PlayStation will look to produce for mobile given its apparent focus on blockbuster games for consoles like the PlayStation 5. But as seen in PlayStation’s acquisition of the fighting game tournament Evo, the company is looking to diversify its product offerings at the very least.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.
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