Sony acquired gaming company Firesprite this week, adding a 14th studio to PlayStation’s suite.

Firesprite, known for “The Playroom” and “Run Sackboy! Run,” has over 200 employees. The Liverpool-based studio already focused on PlayStation games. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

It’s Sony’s third studio acquisition this year. 

• In June, Sony bought Finnish studio Housemarque. 
• It acquired Dutch studio Nixxes Software in July.

The move may demonstrate an interest in going deeper into VR gaming. Firesprite is known for VR versions of its popular titles, namely “The Playroom VR” and “The Persistence VR.” 

The global VR gaming market was valued at $11.6 billion in 2019 with expected average growth of 30% through 2027. 

PS5 sales topped 10 million units in July, making it the fastest selling Sony console in history and helping Sony post record operating profits of $2.57 billion in its fiscal first quarter. 

Sony said in May that it expected PlayStation to be profitable by June. Microsoft revealed, through the Epic Games v. Apple trial, that its Xbox consoles have never turned a profit.

During Thursday’s PlayStation Showcase, Sony unveiled a slew of games, including a new “God of War,” Lucasfilm’s remake of “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic,” and Spider-Man and Wolverine titles from Marvel.

Wearable maker WHOOP is expanding beyond wristbands as it continues its post-fundraise expansion, releasing a clothing line that will track users’ biometric information.

WHOOP Body includes sports bras, compression tops, leggings, and shorts retailing from $54 to $109, and requires a subscription to WHOOP’s health and activity tracking service. 

The company is not working with any apparel partners on the line, a spokesperson told FOS.

WHOOP also rolled out a smaller version of its wristband and new software features, including a pulse oximeter, a skin temperature sensor, and an alarm clock function that wakes up the wearer with vibrations at a time optimized around sleep needs and cycles.

• The company saw its valuation triple in just under a year to $3.6 billion on a $200 million fundraise completed last week. 
• WHOOP recently announced it had acquired PUSH, a weight training technology company that measures movement from sensors — which, like WHOOP’s new wearables, can be placed in multiple spots around the body. 

The company’s product rollout on Thursday featured Patrick Mahomes, Emma Radacanu, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Michael Phelps, and other WHOOP athletes. 

WHOOP released some of Mahomes’ biometric data for the 2020 NFL season and displayed McIlroy and Thomas’ live heart rates during a broadcast on the Golf Channel.

Blockchain digital collectibles platform Sorare has secured a deal with La Liga — the first elite European soccer league to sign a major NFT partnership.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement is reportedly long-term and exclusive, with the league receiving a royalty on sales.

La Liga will offer all of its players NFT fantasy football cards through Sorare. The platform already has deals with Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, and plans to partner with the world’s top 20 soccer teams by the end of next year.

Sorare said it’s sold more than $130 million in NFT cards this year.

• February: Sorare raised $50 million in Series A funding.
• April: It signed five Italian teams, bringing its Serie A total to 11.
• June: The platform signed licensing deals with the German Football Association, the French national team, and the Royal Belgian Football Association.
• July: Reports surfaced that it was closing in on $530 million in funding, which would value the company at more than $3.8 billion.

Sorare has over 500,000 registered users and expects to process at least $200 million in transactions by the end of the year.

Tencent and NetEase lost more than $60 billion in combined market value on Thursday as investors anticipate additional restrictions on gaming. 

The drop in value is the result of Chinese regulators informing gaming companies on Wednesday that the country plans to delay approvals for all new online games. 

Chinese state media branded online games “mental opium” and added that games have a negative impact on the health of minors — which led to new regulations that restrict children to three hours of gaming per week. 

Chinese regulators ruled in July that Tencent failed to meet requirements on relinquishing exclusive rights. Since last year, the conglomerate has faced antitrust concerns over not reporting details of several investments and other anticompetitive practices.

Despite the challenges, Tencent remains a global leader in gaming. 

• It took a majority stake in Berlin-based game maker Yager in June.
• It acquired British gaming company Sumo Group in July for $1.27 billion.
• It’s building a streaming platform after its merger of Huya and DouYu was blocked. 

Tencent generated $21.5 billion in revenue in Q2 2021, a 20% increase year-over-year. The company’s gaming business alone took in $6.6 billion in revenue, a 12% uptick compared to Q2 2020. 

Shares of Tencent dropped 8.48% after market close on Thursday, while NetEase fell 11%.