Sony Plans to Continue Releasing Live Service Games Despite Setbacks

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)

“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.”

“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.

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.