Sony raises China game incubation funding, hopes to discover next Genshin Impact

When it comes to winning the console wars, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all have their own strategies. And for those in the PlayStation ecosystem, there is some good news to look forward to. According to a Reuters report, Sony is looking to invest more resources in the Chinese development market, including the relaunch of the China Hero project, all in search of more gaming success like Genshin Impact.

Sony director of Chinese game production Bao Bo shared that the programme will see more than 1 million yuan (S$192,290), or approximately US$140,080, invested in each game, no matter the size of the development team. The return of the China Hero project also signals an increased faith in the region when it comes to developing big hits.

“The scale of the third season will far exceed the previous two,” Bao said, adding that Sony will publish some games and its PlayStation Studios will support enrolled projects.

Two of those games are Lost Soul Aside and Convallaria, which came through previous iterations of China Hero. The former is an action RPG inspired by Final Fantasy XV, while the latter is a multiplayer third-person shooter; both titles will come to the PlayStation 4 and 5.

This news continues Sony’s approach to China for the long term, which can also count the exclusivity deal with Genshin Impact among its successes. Alas, Microsoft is not resting on its laurels either, and has been trying to scout for more Chinese developers to work with, using the Xbox Game Pass as the carrot on the stick.

With several games already released and more to come from China, it remains to be seen if this approach of Sony will pay off even more in the future. As long as it results in more entertaining games, the investment will be a shrewd one.

ALSO READ: Microsoft powers up search for Chinese gaming hits in race against Sony

This article was first published in Geek Culture.