Sony Delays Release of 6 out of 12 Planned Live-service Games; Major Rescheduling
Sony's strategy to conquer the live-service game market has been significantly modified. The publisher has delayed the release of 6 games, but has not revealed which titles need more time.
The popularity of live-service games has been undeniable in recent years, but one of the most important determinants of the success of specific titles remains how long they manage to keep an engaged community. Decision-makers at Sony seem to be aware of this, changing their release plan for the coming years.
Ambitious announcements
Earlier this year, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) and Bungie (acquired by Sony in 2022) sat down at a table to review owned IPs and evaluate SIE's portfolio. The media was quick to get to the results of the process, reporting that the companies came to a consensus, noting the over-ambition of some projects.
Shortly thereafter, Sony director Hiroki Totoki, issued an official confirmation of this information and assured that the consultation built a plan for SIE to release 12 live-service games before the end of fiscal 2025 (by April 2024).
After a mutually satisfactory cooperation, Sony's local and global studio divisions were to take advantage of the knowledge and skills of Bungie employees, who became an integral part of the implementation of the strategy for titles in this service model.
The change of plans and its rationale
This week, a few months after the original business strategy was announced, Sony Interactive Entertainment's plans have been drastically changed.
Hiroki Totoki announced that only half of the originally announced live-service games are to be realized in the previously assumed timeframe.:
"We are still studying the situation... we are trying our best to ensure that these games will be enjoyed by players for a long time. Of the twelve titles, six will be released by the end of fiscal 2025 - this is our current plan. As for the remaining six titles, we are still working on them."
Reducing number of debuting titles by as much as 50%, and in a genre that PlayStation was supposed to conquer, is an extremely bold decision. Still, it's hard to look at it without a dose of optimism - after all, we're constantly buried with games that have apparently were given too little polishing time. Putting quality over quantity is definitely an idea worth supporting.
However, all statements made by Sony representatives refer to the entire collection of live-service games, without pointing to specific titles. We know, for example, that among the original twelve are online titles set in the world of The Last of Us, Horizon and a new brand from Sony London Studio, set in a fantasy version of the British capital. However, it is impossible to indicate exactly whether any of them will be in the prioritized six.
Despite the drastic changes in Sony's strategy, close cooperation with Bungie is expected to remain a constant in the development of live-service games.
On the occasion of Sony's fiscal 2023 summary, taking place today, we learned also about personnel changes at the company. Previously mentioned and closely associated with the live-service game plan, Hiroki Totoki is to become CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment from April 2024..
However, this function is to be held only on an interim basis, for a maximum of one year, while a search is conducted for a suitable target person for the position. This means that with a new director, the plan currently being refined may change again.
