Remember when Sony said it was aiming to release more than ten live service games by March 2026? Things have changed. During a financial call, Sony president, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki revealed the company is reviewing 12 of its in-development live service games and is cutting its commitment for its 2025 financial year ending on March 2026 in half, according to VGC.
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) updated that goal is now aiming to release six games by that time frame in the future. The news comes after Naughty Dog’s multiplayer-focused title, The Last of Us Factions, has been in the public eye due to its reported development woes, which is described as being ‘on ice; scaled back and delayed indefinitely after Bungie’s reported criticisms of the live service project’s lack of ability to keep its player base engaged.
“We are reviewing this. So, the titles… we have not been able to meet the gamers’ expectations, but we are trying as much as possible that this would be played by the gamers and liked by gamers for a long time. So the 12 titles… so six titles will be released by FY ’25. That’s our current plan. And the remaining six titles, as for when to be released, we are still working on that,” Sony president, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki said during a financial call.
“And the live service games and multiplayer titles, that’s the total of that. So in the mid-to-long term, we want to enlarge this kind of service, and that’s the unchanged policy of our company. It’s not that we stick to certain titles, but for the gamers, quality should be the most important. That’s how I feel about it.”
As a part of this initiative, PlayStation Studios is partnering with Sony-owned Bungie as a sort of advisor/consultant for its’ previously mostly single-player-focused developers. Nothing was said if The Last of Us is part of those six titles, but it’s not something worth betting on at this point; some of the other live service games PlayStation is working on include a Horizon online game and an original IP title from SIE’s London Studio.
