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PlayStation’s venture into live-service games began a few years ago, leading to major releases like Helldivers 2 earlier this year. However, the company's efforts in this space have been less successful than anticipated.
When examining the lineup of games released and announced, it’s evident that Helldivers 2 is an outlier. Over half of PlayStation's live-service projects have either failed or been canceled. PlayStation has likely invested millions into these projects. Concord alone had a budget exceeding $100 million, and these setbacks could pose long-term challenges for the company.
Many of these projects are either still in development or have been canceled, with six major cancellations so far. Among them, Spider-Man: The Great Web was scrapped early on, while Naughty Dog’s multiplayer ambitions for The Last of Us 2 were halted much later, and London Studio was recently shuttered. Deviation Games also faced layoffs, resulting in another canceled title.
Leaks suggest that Twisted Metal is no longer in production, and Payback—a Destiny spin-off by Bungie—was canceled early in its development. Meanwhile, both Concord and Destruction All-Stars flopped post-launch. Although Foamstars was not a first-party title, it was marketed as a PlayStation exclusive. After a lukewarm reception, Square Enix transitioned the game to a free-to-play model. In total, 9 out of 16 live-service projects have failed.
Sony acquired Bungie for its live-service expertise, but even Bungie’s upcoming project Marathon is reportedly facing difficulties. Meanwhile, Fairgame$ seems at risk of following Concord’s trajectory, though PlayStation still has time to adjust its strategy. As for titles from Guerrilla Games and Bend Studio, little is known at this point.
PlayStation’s live-service efforts haven’t panned out as hoped, and it seems the company is scaling back its ambitions. Moving forward, PlayStation plans to release six major live-service titles by 2026.
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