Their identities remain a mystery, but Sony insists that each of its live services will be unique and target different audiences.
Sony has made it clear that live service games will be a big part of its business going forward, promising no less than 10 of them by 2026.
Launching that many in just three years seems a pretty extreme change in direction, especially given there are so many examples of live service games shutting down early due to a lack of interest.
It seems Sony itself is aware of this, however, and has insisted that it’s approaching its live services carefully, by assuring that each one is designed for completely different audiences.
It’s important to remember that live services, or games as a service (GAAS) is a business model, not a genre. Fortnite and Destiny are both live service games but that doesn’t mean they all have to be online shooters.
Racing game Destruction AllStars on the PlayStation 5 is also a live service game and in theory you could apply the business model to almost any genre.
This is something PlayStation studios boss Hermen Hulst wants to make very clear, adding that each project is also aiming for different release dates (obviously, so they don’t overcrowd each other) and are being made ‘at different scales.’
This suggests that Sony isn’t treating every live service as the next blockbuster hit in the making, which could mean smaller releases that don’t need a massive audience to justify their existence.
‘We understand the competitive environment that is out there, and the time investment from players that live services offer. And we want to deliver the highest quality games,’ Hulst tells GamesIndustry.biz.
‘There is a risk that we talk about ‘live service’ in generic terms – as if it is a single genre, or even a single business model. PlayStation Studios are making a variety of games that could be referred to as ‘live services’, targeting different genres, different release schedules, and at different scales.
‘We are also creating games for different audiences, and I take confidence from our track record in creating worlds and stories that PlayStation fans love.’
As for when you can expect to see any of these live services announced, Hulst is remaining coy, though hopefully at least one will be unveiled at that big PlayStation showcase that’s rumoured for the summer.
Although it is now reported that Firewalk, which Sony recently acquired to make a ‘AAA multiplayer game,’ will be launching said game for PlayStation 5 and PC instead of just the former.
Cross-platform launches make a lot of sense for live service games and help them reach a wider audience, but Hulst insinuates that this is more of an exception rather than a rule.
‘We have made significant progress delivering games on PC in recent years, so where it makes sense for the game and the studio, it’s a great option to have. But it’s a decision that we will make for each individual game,’ he says, which matches up with Sony’s attitude to launching its first party games on PC in general.
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