Sony’s live-service online game releases have not all succeeded like Helldivers 2 did, with Harmony being a very high-profile failure. Sony CFO Lin Tao mentioned through the firm’s earnings briefing this week that “it isn’t totally going easily” because it pertains to live-service video games. However Tao identified that Sony has come a good distance up to now half-decade.
“Should you look 5 years in the past, live-service video games had been nearly non-existent for PlayStation Studios,” Tao mentioned, as reported by This Week In Video Games. “By way of the transformation, it isn’t totally going easily, however from a longer-term perspective, should you take a look at the adjustments over 5 years, you see that there has positively been change.”
Tao went on to say that Sony continues to be working by means of “many points” in its pursuit of live-service video games. “So we should always be taught classes from errors and be sure that we introduce live-service content material, the place there’s much less waste and it is extra clean,” Tao mentioned.
For now, Tao pointed to video games like Helldivers 2, MLB The Present 26, Gran Turismo 7, and Future 2 as live-service video games which have been “contributing to gross sales and revenue in a secure method.”
Certainly one of Sony’s upcoming live-service tasks is Bungie’s Marathon, and Tao acknowledged there was “considerably detrimental information” surrounding the sport in latest occasions. Fingers-on previews with the sport weren’t overwhelmingly optimistic, and after the invention of stolen art work, Sony delayed Marathon indefinitely. The sport stays lined up for launch by the top of March 2026, however Tao mentioned “this isn’t a dedication.”
Earlier than this, Sony boss Hermen Hulst mentioned Sony realized from Harmony’s errors, pledging that Marathon wouldn’t undergo the identical destiny. Harmony launched in August 2024 and shortly shut down, with developer Firewalk shuttered.
Past Marathon, Sony additionally has the live-service recreation Fairgame$ arising, however its studio head just lately left and the sport was reportedly delayed on account of poor suggestions to a latest take a look at.
Sony had grand plans within the live-service division, at one level saying it had a dozen live-service tasks within the works earlier than reducing that quantity in half. One of many scuttled tasks was The Final of Us On-line, whereas a live-service God of Struggle recreation was additionally reportedly axed.
Sony’s live-service video games are launched throughout PC and PS5, and Sony’s growth to new platforms continues when Helldivers 2 involves Xbox.