Sony’s Live-Service Game Journey Hits Bumpy Road
During a recent investor call following their first-quarter financial report, Sony representatives discussed the company's ongoing shift towards live-service games. It seems this transition hasn't been entirely smooth, with the company admitting that most of its planned dozen live-service titles have been canceled, and only a few have actually made it to market—with at least one even shutting down.
Despite these setbacks, Sony stated it would learn from its mistakes. The company's leadership, however, also insists that some progress has been made. Lin Tao, Sony's Chief Financial Officer, expressed confidence in the potential of live-service games, even with recent negative news like the closure of Concord and the delay of Marathon.
“Such titles provide an additional source of income that Sony didn’t have five years ago. If you look at the last five years, PlayStation Studios previously had almost no live-service games. [Now] we have Helldivers 2, MLB The Show, Gran Turismo 7, as well as Destiny 2 from Bungie. These four titles consistently contribute to sales and profit.”
– Lin Tao, Sony CFO
During her report, Lin Tao revealed that in the past quarter, revenue from live-service projects accounted for about 40% of all game income from PlayStation's internal studios. However, over the entire year, live-service contributions typically range from 20–30%. This led her to conclude that Sony's move towards live-service titles is proving difficult.
“If we talk about the transition, the process is not going smoothly. But if you look at the long-term perspective, at the changes over five years, progress is obvious. We clearly see there are problems. We need to learn from our mistakes and implement live-service games more thoughtfully to minimize losses and make the process smoother.”
– Lin Tao, Sony CFO
For various reasons, Sony has canceled numerous live-service titles from its internal teams. Projects from Naughty Dog, Bend Studio, Bluepoint Games, Firesprite, Insomniac, and other studios have been scrapped. Currently, an online game set in the Horizon universe, the shooter Fairgame$ (though its founder left the team in May), and the previously mentioned Marathon remain in development. Sony expects to release Marathon by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2026).
This candid admission from Sony highlights the challenges of pivoting a major publisher towards the live-service model. While there have been clear missteps and cancellations, the company appears committed to learning from these experiences. For players, this likely means a more measured approach to future live-service releases from PlayStation studios, focusing on quality and sustainability over quantity, as Sony aims to integrate these projects more thoughtfully into its overall strategy.
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