Overhauling and Scaling Playstation Vue's OTT Platforms

In 1994, PlayStation changed the game—literally. With the release of the first PlayStation console, Sony didn’t just introduce another gaming system; they disrupted an entire industry. Suddenly, gaming was immersive, cinematic, and deeply personal, transforming how players engaged with their worlds. It was a defining moment—one that proved PlayStation’s commitment to pushing boundaries and shaping the future of entertainment.

Fast forward to 2018, and Sony found itself at a critical moment. The development of the PlayStation 5—the most anticipated project on their docket—was in full swing, promising to redefine gaming. At the same time, PlayStation Vue, their OTT streaming platform, needed a complete revamp to improve performance and update apps on devices like Apple TV and Amazon Fire Stick. With both projects demanding full attention, Sony realized they couldn’t manage both internally and needed an extra set of hands. But they didn’t need someone to just tick the boxes—they needed a team that could think like PlayStation, operate like PlayStation, and deliver like PlayStation.

As a Gold Standard Partner with Roku, we were already the trusted name behind some of the biggest streaming services in the world. But this was different. PlayStation Vue required not just technical expertise but also a team with the creative spark to redesign the app, making it not only functional but distinctly on-brand.

Our mission was clear: deliver an OTT platform with the same level of quality, speed, and immersion that PlayStation users expect, while allowing Sony’s engineers to focus entirely on their next-gen console.

Mastering Multi-Platform Complexity

With the PlayStation 5 development commanding Sony’s full attention, our challenge was to fully overhaul PlayStation Vue—not only improving performance but also expanding its capabilities across a wide range of devices. While the initial PlayStation Vue app was already live on Roku, it required significant performance optimization. Additionally, existing versions of the app on other platforms, such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire Stick, needed further refinement to meet their specific requirements and ensure a seamless experience across all devices.

The first technical hurdle we encountered was multi-platform optimization. Each device, whether it was Roku, Apple TV, or Fire Stick, operates on distinct frameworks with varying levels of hardware performance. We had to ensure PlayStation Vue maintained low-latency video streaming while delivering consistent high-definition quality across these devices. This involved extensive work on optimizing the video compression algorithms, ensuring efficient handling of multiple adaptive bitrate streaming formats (HLS, DASH, and Smooth Streaming) to adapt to bandwidth fluctuations without compromising quality.

Another key challenge was memory and CPU management. On lower-end devices, memory and processing power are constrained. To address this, our team implemented a progressive enhancement strategy, dynamically adjusting resource usage based on the device's capabilities. By leveraging a componentized architecture, we were able to load only the necessary resources for each platform, resulting in reduced startup times and smoother overall performance.

To ensure a seamless and unified user experience, we developed a shared abstraction layer for cross-platform UX components. This allowed us to maintain a consistent UI while supporting device-specific features like Apple’s tvOS gesture controls and Roku’s custom remote inputs. We also focused on optimizing navigation performance, ensuring that switching between live TV, on-demand content, and DVR functionalities felt just as fast and responsive as navigating a PlayStation console.

The Device Lab 

One of our most innovative contributions was the establishment of a dedicated device lab at our Bogotá office, where we set up every device PlayStation Vue needed to support. This lab allowed us to perform extensive automated testing across a broad spectrum of devices, ensuring compatibility and performance consistency. We developed custom E2E testing frameworks to simulate real-world conditions and tested across multiple video and audio formats to ensure flawless delivery.

This meticulous attention to detail in development, optimization, and testing ensured that PlayStation Vue not only met but exceeded Sony’s expectations—allowing them to focus on the PlayStation 5 while we delivered a world-class streaming service across all platforms.

From Success to Industry Recognition

Our work on PlayStation Vue didn’t just meet Sony’s expectations—it exceeded them. Impressed by the performance improvements and the seamless multi-platform integration, Sony flew our entire team to San Diego for an extended collaboration. During this time, we worked closely with their internal teams, further refining the platform and establishing a comprehensive knowledge transfer plan to ensure long-term success.

This project wasn’t just a success for PlayStation Vue; it also established us as a key player in the OTT space. As a direct result of our collaboration with Sony, Roku—impressed with the technical sophistication of our work—recommended us for future OTT projects. Our success with PlayStation Vue paved the way for high-profile engagements with some of the biggest names in entertainment including DirecTV.

What began as a project to revamp PlayStation Vue turned into a launching pad for broader industry recognition, positioning us as the go-to partner for delivering high-quality, scalable OTT solutions.