Highlights
- Sony may be entering the mobile game market, and once it does, it would be worth looking into card games inspired by iconic PlayStation franchises like God of War and Uncharted.
- Mobile card games like Hearthstone and Marvel Snap could be the perfect fit for Sony’s extensive library of well-known exclusives.
- The potential for Sony to revive neglected franchises like Jak and Daxter and Sly Cooper through mobile card games is a promising opportunity for the company. Alternatively, it could bank on active IPs full of lore and characters like God of War.
Aside from a brief stint in mobile gaming with the PSP and the Vita, PlayStation and Sony in general have largely stayed out of the mobile market. But in recent years, mobile games have become one of the major players in the industry, boasting the highest number of players than any other platform out there. But a recent report from the industry indicates that that may no longer be the case. With a burgeoning interest in on-the-go gaming, the mobile market may be seeing an uptick in Sony-owned properties sooner than anyone realizes.
Initial reports are sketchy as to what type of PlayStation titles mobile fans can expect to hit app stores, but Sony’s probably taking some inspiration from other major developers that have done the same. There’s one genre of game in particular that would fit like a glove for Sony and its many iconic properties, including some of the more neglected franchises like Jak and Daxter, inFamous, and Sly Cooper: card games.
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Sony Should Look Into a Hearthstone or Marvel Snap Style Card Game
Card games like Hearthstone and Marvel Snap would be a perfect fit for Sony’s big debut into the mobile game market. Card games like that are hugely successful and make excellent use of a company’s extended IP library. Short of Nintendo, Sony probably has the most iconic list of franchises in the industry, all of which would feel right at home appearing in a PlayStation-tinged version of some of the most popular mobile game genres on the market.
There are two main avenues Sony can take if it’s actually pursuing a mobile card game; Hearthstone or Marvel Snap. Marvel Snap is a more straightforward card game featuring beloved characters and iconography from the Marvel Universe. Hearthstone, on the other hand, is supposed to be representative of an in-universe game, taking place within World of Warcraft featuring in-world lore, locations, spells, and the like.
How Sony Can Learn From Hearthstone and Marvel Snap
More than any other franchise, God of War would be a perfect fit for a Hearthstone-inspired Sony game. The most recent two games alone are rich enough to fill out an entire game, and that’s not even counting the original God of War trilogy. Mythology in general serves as an excellent inspiration for any game, and God of War has been so keen about leaning into and embracing its Norse and Greek roots that blending it into a card game seems like it would just be a logical next step.
The other route Sony can take with its jump into the mobile market is to model its first title after Marvel Snap and make a general purpose card game not tied to any one universe’s lore or internal consistency. Marvel Snap is a lot more akin to something like the Pokemon or Yu-gi-oh card games, just slotting in monsters for various iconic Marvel properties. Sony has a surplus of mascots and well-known exclusives that would be shoo-ins for some representation in a title like this, especially where many of its franchises have been going through content droughts. Appearances in a card game could be what those long-dormant franchises need to get back up off the ground.
Playstation Franchises that Can Feature in a Sony Mobile Card Game
- God of War
- Last of Us
- Uncharted
- inFamous
- Killzone
- Twisted Metal
- Jak and Daxter
- Resistance
- Marvel’s Spider-Man
- Sly Cooper
There’s no telling exactly what PlayStation will do with its first mobile game. It’s clearly been cooking for a while after Sony forged a new partnership with a mobile game studio back in 2023; the first Sony mobile game may be in production already and closer to release than anyone actually realizes. Sony may even surprise everyone by making something absolutely no one expected, like a gacha game. Still, it would absolutely be leaving a lot of money on the table by not adopting the card game model laid out by other industry front-runners.
