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Sony Plans to Continue Releasing Live Service Games Despite Setbacks

Sony Plans to Continue Releasing Live Service Games Despite Setbacks

Sony's live service offerings have yielded mixed results. Helldivers 2 was a major success, but Concord failed to attract players.

Written by Manas Mitul | Updated: 29 June 2026 14:24 IST

Sony Plans to Continue Releasing Live Service Games Despite Setbacks

Photo Credit: Sony

Concord was considered a historic failure and was shut down two weeks after launch

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Highlights

Marathon has struggled to attract a large player base
Helldivers 2 released on PC, PS5 and was a major success
A live service God of War game was cancelled in 2025

Sony is not backing away from live service games despite recent setbacks. The PlayStation parent has little success with its multiplayer offerings, but the plan is to continue with its live service push, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) president and CEO Hideaki Nishino has said in an interview.

In a wide-ranging interaction with Famitsu, Nishino touched upon PS5 sales, PlayStation services, and the company's live service strategy. Despite recent misfires like Concord and multiple cancelled live service projects at Sony, the SIE boss said the company would continue to back the genre.

“We believe that live service games are content that attracts users on a global scale, so we want to continue revitalizing the market through first-party and third-party content,” Nishino said (translated from Japanese)

Sony Opts for Safeguards, Studio Oversight to Limit Impact from Failures

“Not only are we focusing on new titles, but we're also considering mid- to long-term possibilities for older games. For example, with Genshin Impact, we ran a campaign where new PS5 buyers got a 10 percent discount on in-game currency.

“Also, this year, we plan to release Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls as our live service title, so we hope everyone will enjoy it. I'd be happy if it becomes popular.”

Sony to Continue Live Service Push

When asked if Sony would continue with its live service strategy as before, Nishino said, “That's right.”

Concord Review: Dead on Arrival

“Live service games are important for continuously providing something. The genre itself is relatively new, and I think many people are trying various things, so we want to keep challenging ourselves within that framework,” he added.

Sony's live service push has yielded decidedly mixed results. While Helldivers 2 was a major success, Concord was shut down two weeks after its launch after it failed to attract players. More recently, Marathon, which released in March, has struggled to amass a strong player base even as developer Bungie continues to support the game with seasonal updates.

The PlayStation parent has also cancelled numerous high-profile live service projects, including a multiplayer God of War title and The Last of Us online. Project cancellations have resulted in multiple studios being shut down. Bluepoint games was shut earlier this year after its live service God of War game was cancelled. Concord developer Firewalk Studios was also shuttered after the game's failure.

Sony to Shut Down Demon's Souls Remake Developer Bluepoint Games

Last week, Sony also announced cuts at Marathon and Destiny 2 developer Bungie that would result in a “significant” number of layoffs at the studio impacting most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members.

This year, Sony is set to release Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, a live service fighting title, on PS5 and PC.

Concord

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Fun, engaging PvP gameplay
Distinct hero abilities
Visual presentation

Bad
$40 price tag
Uninspired character designs
Lack of ultimate ability
Detached narrative
Too similar to other games in the genre

Read detailed Sony Concord review

Genre Shooter

Platform PlayStation 5 (PS5), PC: Windows

Modes Multiplayer

PEGI Rating 12+

More Sony Games

Helldivers 2

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Fun and engaging gameplay
Tongue-in-cheek tone
Explosive weapons
Simple, effective mission structure
Diverse environments
Fair pricing

Bad
Server issues
Jumping into online matches can take time
Needs more diverse missions

Read detailed Playstation Helldivers 2 review

Genre Shoot 'em up

Platform PlayStation 5 (PS5), PC: Windows

Modes Single-player, Multiplayer

PEGI Rating 18+

More Playstation Games

Marathon

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Bold, striking art style and visuals
Robust, responsive FPS gameplay
Distinct Runner shells
Excellent loot game
Immersive story and lore
Challenging Enemy AI

Bad
Game readability issues
Complex menus and UI
Lack of diverse modes

Read detailed Bungie Marathon review

Genre Shooter

Platform PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series S/X, PC: Windows

Modes Single-player

More Bungie Games

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Further reading: Sony, Live Service, PS5, PlayStation, SIE, Concord, Helldivers 2

Manas Mitul

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In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More