Sony Interactive Entertainment’s recent cancellation of first-party live service game projects is tied to the failure of Concord, based on a new report.
During the latest episode of Game Mess Decides, host Jeff Grubb, who is known for his connections within the game industry, pointed to the failure of Firewalk Studios’ Concord as the primary reason behind Sony Interactive Entertainment’s decision to cancel both Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games’ live service games. This is what he has been told by his sources.
Grubb explained that Sony Interactive Entertainment has been “shell shocked” from the Concord ordeal, and the company is now going around to every first-party studio to reassess their projects. According to him, if a studio is working on a live service project, it has a lot of friction going against it, preventing it from getting a chance to see the light of day. The company is also applying much stricter scrutiny before green-lighting anything new.
The cancellations have placed Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games in precarious positions. As live service games were previously prioritized, these studios will now need to pitch new, more traditional projects. Grubb suggested that Sony may lean toward safer options for its studios going forward, such as remakes or smaller-scale projects. He pointed out Bluepoint Games’ expertise in remakes, speculating that the studio could return to familiar territory.
Grubb believes both studios may pivot to smaller, faster-to-develop projects, possibly even revisiting dormant IPs. However, the road ahead remains uncertain. He found it baffling that Sony Interactive Entertainment invested so much time and money into chasing a trend that was already showing signs of decline. According to him, the decision to greenlight projects like a God of War live service game highlighted the lack of a clear vision among the company’s leadership.
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s live service ventures didn’t go as planned, resulting in the cancellation of 8 of 12 titles that were part of this initiative. Read about it here.
