PlayStation loves its studios. PlayStation doesn't force anyone to do anything. PlayStation simply implements "great initiatives" - and it just so happens that a whole range of developers have been encouraged: "Hey, you know what the gaming universe desperately needs? More live service games!" As if by magic, a dozen of these projects were launched. You could almost believe there is a secret competition to see who regrets it the quickest.
Let's take a quick look back: PlayStation has been through some tough tests in recent years. But luckily there are still real games - single-player gems like "God of War: Ragnarok" and "Marvel's Spider-Man 2", which saved the brand's reputation. But then there was also "Concord", a tragic story about a gamethat hardly anyone wanted to play. PlayStation did the only sensible thing: it distracted with the success of "Helldivers 2" and "Astro Bot" and simply continued to talk about the fact that live service games are still the future. Why? Good question. Maybe it will work with "FairGame$".
Live service? Yes, but voluntarily please!
Now you might think that developers like Naughty Dog, Bluepoint or Bend Studio have been sitting together in their secret chambers all these years and thinking: "Forget our DNA, let's become games-as-a-service giants!" Completely voluntarily, of course. That Naughty Dog's Last of Us multiplayer was quietly and secretly discontinued in 2023, although it was supposed to have been greatand Bluepoint simply threw its live service experiment with "God of War" into the fire? Pure coincidences.
But luckily we have ex-PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida to reassure us: Nobody was forced. Nothing at all. PlayStation doesn't dictate, PlayStation inspires! So when PlayStation says it wants to push Live service, the studios hear it, nod eagerly and happen to present just such projects. Out of the deepest creative conviction, of course.
Yoshida explained in the "Sacred Symbols" podcast that the decisions were "probably mutual". No pressure, no agenda - just a harmonious dance between management and developers.
The end of the live service era?
But hey, maybe it didn't turn out the way the fancy PlayStation offices thought it would. Now that the live service craze is dying down and studios are allowed to remember their real passion, we can hope that in the future there will be more focus on single-player and less on "What is the best way to monetize this?" is set. Perhaps we will soon see more creative games again and fewer service dreams that are scrapped after two years.
But of course everything is completely voluntary.
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