Sony Computer Entertainment executive producer Pete Smith has publicly stated that the company was in talks with Playdead about releasing Limbo exclusively on PSN. An agreement could not be reached with the Danish studio, however, because Sony insisted on ownership of the IP as part of the deal.
Playdead then went on to sign a deal with Microsoft that brought the game to Xbox Live Arcade first in July 2010, only coming to Sony’s PSN and Steam a year later. “I maybe shouldn’t say this, but we had issues when we were trying to sign Limbo because of the IP,” said Smith to Edge.
“There are obvious benefits to keeping it, but also to giving it up: you’re way more likely to get the deal,” he added. “Remember: 100 per cent of nothing is nothing. A publisher is much more likely to commit to marketing and merchandising if they own the IP.
“Sometimes all we want is protection so [devs] don’t make a game, finish it then go to one of our rivals,” smith noted. “We look at IP on a case by case basis. With a bit of common sense, you can find common ground.”
