Speaking to Famitsu, the Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO was asked if the platform holder intended to carry on as before with live service games, to which he left little doubt that it did.
“That’s right. With live-service games, it’s important to keep providing something on an ongoing basis,” Nishino replied. “The genre itself is relatively new, and I imagine many people are trying out various approaches, so we intend to continue taking on new challenges within that context.”
The CEO added: “We view live-service games as content that attracts users on a global scale, so we intend to continue revitalizing the market through both first-party and third-party content.
“We are looking beyond simply promoting new titles and are considering what can be done with older titles over the medium to long term.”
Since it announced its intention to develop ten live service games back in 2022, PlayStation’s GaaS mission has been marred by turbulent results. Its most high-profile misstep was the disastrous launch of 2024’s Concord, which was pulled from sale just two weeks after launch.
Sony also canceled live service games in development at numerous studios, including Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, with the latter being closed entirely earlier this year.
Sony’s $3.7 billion acquisition of Bungie has also been tumultuous, with the company recently reporting a $765 million impairment loss related to Bungie assets. Earlier this month, it ended support for Destiny 2 and later laid off most of its development team.
It’s not all been bad news, however. Helldivers 2, developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, was a surprise hit, becoming PlayStation’s fastest-selling game of all time and selling more than 15 million copies by the end of 2024.
Speaking during an earnings call last year, Sony CFO Lin Tao said that despite the negativity surrounding Sony’s live service offerings, she believed they were worthwhile because they’ve added a revenue stream that didn’t exist for the company five years ago.
