It's now possible for Sunset Overdrive games to appear on PlayStation systems, as it has been revealed that Sony Interactive Entertainment owns the rights to all of Insomniac Games' previous properties, including the former Microsoft exclusive series. Sunset Overdrive was originally released on Xbox One in 2014 and was one of the true exclusives for the system. Sunset Overdrive came to PC four years later and is currently available on Xbox Game Pass for both PC and Xbox One.
Sunset Overdrive was developed by Insomniac Games and was published by Microsoft Studios. Insomniac Games is best-known for its work with the PlayStation brand, as it developed the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance series, as well as the original Spyro the Dragon trilogy for the PlayStation. Insomniac Games has developed a few multi-platform titles in the past, but the bulk of the company's work was for PlayStation systems. Sony acquired Insomniac Games back in August, which means that it will be developing games exclusively for the PlayStation brand in the future.
The question regarding the ownership of the Sunset Overdrive franchise has now been answered, as SIE president Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed to Inside Games via an interview translated by Push Square that Sony owns the rights to all of Insomniac Games' previous work, including Sunset Overdrive. Yoshida was asked about the future of the series and he responded that he was looking forward to future titles.
Sunset Overdrive was one of the best Xbox One exclusive games and it remained on the system for a long time before receiving a PC port. It's possible that Sony might want to bring the original version of the game to the PlayStation 4 in a remastered form that contains new content, as well as releasing sequels further down the line, which is something Microsoft never seemed interested in doing. If Sony could turn Sunset Overdrive into a successful franchise, then it would prove that they could do something that Microsoft couldn't.
Microsoft is looking to acquire more studios in the future, in preparation for the upcoming console generation, yet it seems as if the company doesn't mind shedding some of its previous exclusives, with games like Cuphead and Ori and the Blind Forest being released for the Nintendo Switch. Sunset Overdrive never received a sequel for either PC or Xbox One, which suggests that Microsoft wasn't interested in turning it into a full-fledged series, but Sony might feel differently and Sunset Overdrive might find a new audience on PlayStation systems.
Source: Inside Games (via Push Square)