Quick Summary
Sony is looking for a software engineer to build a new mobile games platform. It'll basically give phone users a portal to find and download free-to-play games from PlayStation and partners.
The service sounds like it could be a rival to Apple Arcade.
Sony is reported to be working on its own app store for iPhone and Android, to compete with the likes of Netflix, Apple Arcade and a prospective Xbox mobile service.
A job listing has been spotted online by TweakTown (via VGC) that reveals the company is looking for a software engineer to create the new PlayStation mobile platform – a PS Plus for your phone, basically.
The best news is that the games available on the service will be free: "PlayStation Studios Mobile is seeking an experienced software engineer to design PlayStation's platform for developing, publishing, and operating free-to-play mobile games," it states in the listing.
"An individual in this role will spearhead the design and implementation of this platform; work in partnership with internal teams to connect mobile games to PlayStation services; and ensure that all mobile games meet PlayStation's quality standards."
It sounds very much like Apple Arcade, but for PlayStation and third-party games. And it might even be able to run on iPhones outside the European Union as, while only EU customers can install rival app storefronts on Apple devices at present, there's no reason the PlayStation platform can't operate like Netflix, which hosts exclusive games but you still download them via the Apple App Store.
Of course, as the job advert has only recently appeared and the recruitment process is only just starting, it's doubtful we'll see anything emerge from Sony for quite a while.
It does look though that Sony is seeking to get in on the mobile gaming scene in a much bigger way than ever before. We imagine the service will appear on its own handsets primarily, which have recently been bolstered through the arrival of the Sony Xperia 1 VI.
It'll be likely to spread to other devices and ecosystems soon after though, we expect.
Definitely watch this space. We'll update you when we hear more.
