Sony's Ethereum scaling network Soneium officially launched Monday, and the network’s creators are billing it as a way to potentially introduce crypto to the masses. But will that include gaming—and specifically, Sony’s juggernaut PlayStation brand and its many popular franchises?
Sony Block Solutions Labs Director Sota Watanabe previously told Decrypt that Soneium could onboard “ordinary people” into the cryptosphere, operating in the background as a technical backbone while augmenting experiences in areas like film, music, and gaming.
On Soneium’s website, visitors can filter through applications that are currently being built on Soneium, with “gaming” listed under a “consumer” category.
The inclusion begs the question of whether PlayStation’s massive franchises like God of War, Uncharted, Gran Turismo, and many others could one day join Soneium’s ecosystem.
While PlayStation could theoretically leverage Soneium as a way to integrate digital assets into its games, the network’s team didn’t have any input for now, a spokesperson told Decrypt.
“As for potential integrations with PlayStation, we’re excited about the possibilities blockchain technology brings to gaming, but we don’t have any specific updates to share on that front at this time,” the Sony BLS spokesperson said.
Decrypt’s GG reached out to PlayStation representatives for comment, but did not immediately receive a response regarding potential use of Soneium for blockchain games.
Soneium is being developed by Sony BLS, a Singapore-based subsidiary of the Japanese multinational corporation. The firm was established in 2023 as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Startale Labs.
But it isn’t the first time that Sony was considering the potential for blockchain tech, even when it comes to gaming.
Sony filed patent applications that bridge blockchain and gaming before Soneium’s team was formed: One centered on tracking in-game assets using NFTs, the other established “super-fungible tokens,” which are effectively a bundle of NFT in-game items.
Currently, users can access around a dozen Soneium-based games, most of which appear to be in early development. Those include Derby Race, a “pick-to-earn” horse racing game that takes the form of a mini app on the Telegram messaging platform, and OverTrip, a battle royale shooter “where the thrill of competition meets the world of staking” with meme coins and NFTs.
None of those games are made by Sony or partner Startale Labs, however. Soneium is a permissionless network that anyone can build on, and as with other chains like Solana and The Open Network, developers have launched games built around assets minted on Soneium.
A PlayStation title that leverages Soneium would represent a significant shift in the blockchain-based gaming space. As of this writing, no PlayStation console games have front-facing crypto elements for players to engage with.
Off the Grid, a popular battle royale shooter that's available in early access on PlayStation 5, tracks user-owned items and other elements on an Avalanche L1 blockchain testnet called GUNZ, with a full mainnet launch and token drop planned for sometime this quarter.
But a Gunzilla Games Director of Web3 Theodore Agranat admitted to Decrypt that the crypto elements in the PS5 version of the game will have to be “handled differently” than on PC. More details on that front are expected closer to the GUNZ mainnet launch. Other crypto games headed to PS5 are similarly cutting or overhauling their blockchain elements.
It has also been rumored, for well over a year, that Rockstar Games may support digital assets in Grand Theft Auto 6, which is set to be released this fall. However, there’s been no official word from the video game maker, and it’s banned the use of crypto and NFTs from player-run Grand Theft Auto 5 servers.
Rockstar Games said that prohibiting “commercial exploitation” through the use of cryptocurrencies was in line with protecting trademarks and intellectual property. Earlier this week, Sony BLS did much the same on Soneium, “blacklisiting” at least one meme coin that riffed on the name of a PlayStation character.
Edited by Andrew Hayward