PlayStation isn't moving away from live service games

Even though there was a PlayStation far CEO Hideaki Nishino, who says there are more losses than wins in live service games, confirmed the company plans to “continue to revitalize the market.”

The massive success of games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, Warzone, etc. over the last two console generations has led to almost every publisher and developer opting for the live service Golden Goose. Some were captured quite successfully, but countless others quickly crashed and burned.

PlayStation is definitely closer to the latter when it comes to live service releases. Helldivers 2 was a huge win (ignoring ongoing community controversy) and regularly updated games like Gran Turismo are doing well, but almost all live service games have been canceled or underperformed. Still, PlayStation isn't giving up anytime soon.

PlayStation CEO says live service games will “attract users on a global scale”

Talk to Concord

As VGC reports, Sony CEO Hideaki Nishino was recently interviewed as part of Famitsu's 40th anniversary celebration. Nishino was asked about the response to PlayStation's live service so far and whether the team plans to continue investing in it. Nishino confirmed that fact, noting that when it comes to live service games, “it's important to continually provide something.”

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The game can't afford another Concord

The video game industry is currently in a very dangerous situation.

The PlayStation boss also said the company views live service games as “content that will engage users on a global scale” and plans to “continue to revitalize the market through both first-party and third-party content.” Essentially, PlayStation isn't giving up on live service games and still considers them an important part of its business.

while you could do Marvel at PlayStation's never-give-up attitude when it comes to live service games. The reality is that the studios that focus on these projects are the ones that ultimately pay the price. Looking at Bungie's recent mass layoffs after Destiny 2's somewhat disappointing results after nearly a decade, it's clear that even massive games can have trouble achieving long-term success.

As evidenced by Concord (which ended in literally two weeks) and The Last of Us Online, live service games are incredibly expensive and time-consuming. PlayStation has canceled far more live-service projects than were released, with notable losses, including the God of War project, Twisted Metal, and even the multiplayer Spider-Man, so sometimes releases are over.

Live service games are undoubtedly a large part of the current gaming ecosystem, but as Highguard has proven beyond a doubt, they are unsustainable in most cases. PlayStation is already whopping It's a little worrying to hear that they're still interested in pursuing a live service release, as they've had a hard time understanding the concept and have suffered historic losses because of it.