Sony Santa Monica Studio Moving to New 85,000 Square Feet Offices in Playa Vista

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 30, 2014 | 3 comments
Sohrab Osati

Sony_Santa_Monica_Studios

If you’ve been camping out in Santa Monica outside of Sony Santa Monica Studios in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Stig or a tossed out paper with info about the next God of War game, then listen up. Thanks to the success of the PS4 and other hits from the studio which include God of War: Ascension (among other GoW titles), flOw, flOwer, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and the upcoming PS4 title, The Order: 1886, the studio’s 240 employees are beginning to feel cramped in their offices. With at least two AAA titles being worked on at the studio which includes The Order: 1886 among other smaller titles, the studio will be moving its location after more than a decade in Santa Monica to accommodate the companies growing teams.

Shannon_StudstillShannon Studstill, founder and head of Sony Santa Monica:

 We took some time to hone in on location. We love Santa Monica. It’s been our home for over a decade. 

The new studio which will offer the team 85,000 square feet of space will take the place of once housed postoffice in Playa Vista this summer. For those unfamiliar with the LA landscape, Playa Vista lays roughly 10 miles south of Santa Monica near LAX. The area, which is sometimes referred to as Silicon Beach, already accommodates a host of other well known companies which include Microsoft, YouTube, and EA. Studstill:

 It’s four or five times the size we have now 

In the current studio headquarters, kitchen space is divided up to 6 separate areas due to the small nature of the building. In the new HQ, the cafeteria will be combined into one large facility which Studstill believes will help drive further collaboration.

 We’re going to drive traffic to that space, and hopefully create more of a culture of sharing. 

Other benefits the new space will provide include more conference rooms, an improved sound bay, and a motion capture studio which has become the staple of Naughty Dog in games like Uncharted and The Last of Us. In the past, Santa Monica Studios has helped start indie companies like thatgamecompany, Giant Sparrow, and Superbot, and Studstill hopes this trend continues where the space will be able to house two indie studios at the same time. While this might be fun and geek trivia for many, would-be game designers should take note as the company’s new office will also play into an overall strategy to increase staffing by 15%, which translates to new openings in the future.

Discuss:

What are some of your favorite game studios?

[Via Variety]