Gabriel Stanford-ReisingerDespite the short-lived nature of Concord, Sony seems convinced that it will strike gold again in the live service market. The only big hit they have is Helldivers 2.
During an Famitsu interview (via Push Square), co-CEO Herman Hulst addressed their live service future, seeming a little unfazed by the failure and blatantly ignoring the big reasons why people have been slow adopters to Sony’s live service efforts. He at least notes the industry is changing and that they aren’t abandoning single player experiences, but rather adding them to their perspective skillset.
“The game business is constantly changing due to various factors, including technological advances, new genres and ways of playing. However, one thing that remains constant is people’s desire for great entertainment experiences, and attention to games continues to grow.
However, this has also created competition, and like many companies in the industry, we have had to make changes to our business to solidify a more sustainable operating base. Going forward, we will continue to focus on developing live service titles along with the story-driven single-player titles that our players want. We are learning a lot as we establish the ability to develop high-quality live service titles within SIE. Helldivers 2 attracted many players through continuous content provision and achieved results that support the potential of live service titles.”
Whether or not Sony will actually strike gold again and establish a solid live service game under a first-party developer remains to be seen. As a quick refresher, now-defunct Firewalk Studios‘ Concord was Sony’s big push into the market, with years upon years of development and — reportedly — $400 million spent in development.
What do you think? Are you tired of Sony’s live service efforts? Let us know below!