Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida reveals he would have resisted Sony's controversial push into live-service gaming. Yoshida, who led SIE Worldwide Studios from 2008 to 2019, expressed concerns to Kinda Funny Games about the inherent risks involved in Sony's live-service investments.
This statement comes amidst significant challenges for PlayStation's live-service titles. While Helldivers 2 achieved remarkable success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, other ventures have faltered.
Concord, a notable example, became a major setback, lasting only weeks before being shut down due to extremely low player numbers. The project, reportedly costing around $200 million in initial development (according to Kotaku), proved a costly failure for Sony, not accounting for IP rights or the acquisition of Firewalk Studios. This follows the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer game and, recently, two further unannounced live-service titles – a God of War project from Bluepoint and another from Bend Studio (Days Gone developers).
Yoshida, who recently departed Sony after 31 years, hypothetically stated that, as current CEO Hermen Hulst, he would have resisted the live-service strategy. He highlighted the resource allocation dilemma, suggesting that diverting funds from established franchises like God of War towards live-service games was a questionable decision. However, he acknowledged that Sony provided additional resources for live-service development after his departure, indicating a calculated risk with the understanding that success in the competitive live-service market is far from guaranteed. The unexpected success of Helldivers 2 underscores the unpredictable nature of the industry.
Sony's financial reports reflect this learning curve. President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki acknowledged lessons learned from both Helldivers 2's triumph and Concord's failure, emphasizing the need for earlier user testing and internal evaluations. Totoki also pointed to Sony's "siloed organization" and Concord's unfortunate release window, potentially leading to market cannibalization with the launch of Black Myth: Wukong.
Senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa further highlighted the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord, emphasizing the importance of sharing lessons learned across studios to improve development management and post-launch content strategies. Sony aims to balance its portfolio with proven single-player titles alongside riskier live-service ventures.
Despite past setbacks, several PlayStation live-service games remain in development, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$.
