It turns out February’s rumors were true and HTC will indeed be getting the Playstation Suite, however, it will be called the Playstation Mobile thanks to a Sony rebranding. Sony announced the rebranding along with the HTC partnership today at E3.

Having a device that’s “Playstation Certified” hasn’t meant much thanks to a dismal Playstation Suite. Promises of premium exclusive content has fallen short due to the lack of development. In an attempt to gain increased developer interest, Sony has announced it will be releasing an open beta version of the Playstation Suite SDK next month with an official version to follow later in the year. While the open beta will be free to all, the offical release will cost $99 annually and will allow developers to distribute their content through the PlayStation Store. Sony has to do something to entice consumers to purchase a “Playstation Certified” device and while having the branding alone is a nice incentive, without content, it’s nothing more than a marketing ploy.

According to sources at Pocket-lint, HTC is set to become the first non-Sony company to have its mobile devices Playstation certified. Playstation certification gives manufacturer devices access to numerous Playstation titles. It’s a great opportunity for Sony to licence out their suite to manufacturers who can then provide one extra feature to entice customers. It makes more sense than limiting the suite to outdated mobile hardware that no one wants to buy anyways.