Sony seems eager to avoid another Concord level flop, canceling two unannounced live service PlayStation games

techradar.com:

Sony has canceled two unannounced live service games.

According to Bloomberg, a Sony spokesperson confirmed that they were canceled «following a recent review”. They were in development at two PlayStation studios, Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games.

Bend Studio is known for developing PlayStation exclusives, most recently Days Gone. Bluepoint Games usually specializes in comprehensive remasters or remakes, such as the PlayStation 5 release of Demon’s Souls as well as the PlayStation 4 version of Shadow of the Colossus.

Although the games have been canceled, neither studio will be shut down. “Bend and Bluepoint are highly accomplished teams who are valued members of the PlayStation Studios family,” the spokesperson continued. “We are working closely with each studio to determine what are the next projects.”

Sony also specified that it intends to “do everything we can to ensure there is minimal business impact,” though it’s not clear whether this will involve some job cuts. Bluepoint Games was reportedly working on a live service God of War title, likely similar in scope to the The Last of Us Online game developer Naughty Dog that was cancelled in December 2023.

These two unannounced games were part of a wider push by Sony to invest in live-service tiles, which can be very successful. The likes of Fortnite or Destiny 2 provide a constant revenue stream and can keep players engaged for years via frequent content updates. That said, an extremely crowded market makes putting out a new live service a very risky endeavor.

Last year Sony launched Helldivers 2, which sold well and is the perfect example of a live-service hit. On the opposite end of the spectrum we also saw the high-budget Concord struggle to make much of an impact, with disastrous sales that led to its shutdown just two weeks after it launched. It seems safe to assume that these cancellations are measures to try and avoid a similar disaster.

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