PlayStation is rethinking its approach to risk following its recent reality check in the live-service segment, a senior company official has said. Though the newly confirmed strategy shift is multi-faceted, it largely centers on Sony changing the way it manages PlayStation studios.
Launched in late August 2024 and permanently shut down just two weeks later, Firewalk Studios' Concord is the most high-profile failure of Sony's live-service foray, which started under the leadership of former SIE CEO Jim Ryan. However, it is far from the only one, with previous reports suggesting PlayStation canceled at least 11 live-service games between 2022 and early 2025. While some of those projects are said to have been in an early stage of development and therefore did not cost much, several are believed to have been in the works for years, consequently burning through significant funds before being shelved. This was the case with The Last of Us Online, which started as a multiplayer mode for the 2020 The Last of Us 2 before being canceled at the tail end of 2023.
Faced with these setbacks, the group is rethinking the PlayStation studio model. That's according to Sony Interactive Entertainment co-CEO...
