It’s been an interesting month for Sony so far. For starters, it indirectly benefitted from helping out Game Science early on in the game’s development process, which was a major reason why Black Myth: Wukong was available on the PlayStation 5 at launch—the verdict is still out if it’s actually a timed exclusive or not— where it made the console gaming industry relevant in China overnight and outpaced every video game in history in terms of launch sales save for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5. But, not long after, Concord came and crashed the party, pretty much becoming the worst AAA game to come out in recent years, forcing Sony to shut the game down and casting doubts about its future live service plans. Now, as if to balance out the bad news, Astro Bot‘s early critic reviews declare it the best video game of the year.
Astro Bot’s success, in particular, raises important questions about Sony’s strategy going forward. While hailed as a potential Game of the Year contender, it does bring into question whether its critical acclaim is enough to sway Sony from its apparent focus on live service titles.
The appeal of live service games is undeniable from a business perspective. Epic Games, Riot Games, Rockstar Games, Activision Blizzard, and all, have demonstrated the immense financial potential of this model, with titles like Fortnite and Valorant generating billions in annual revenue. This success has not gone unnoticed, with many major publishers, including Sony, investing heavily in developing their own live service offerings.
Over the past two years, Sony has yo-yo’d investing billions into close to a dozen live service titles before cutting it down to six, which may still change in light of Concord’s failure.
Despite significant investment and development time—it’s believed Concord’s total development cost is upwards of $100 million and it took eight years to make— the game failed to gain traction and was quickly abandoned. This setback, when you couple it with the warm reception of Astro Bot, has led to question’s about Sony’s live service ambitions.
However, when it comes down to it, Sony’s investment in the live service genre isn’t wrong. There’s a growing generational gap in preferences, with the younger players gravitating towards free-to-play live service titles that offer continuous updates and social experiences. For cash-strapped teenagers and young adults, Fortnite has the potential to provide hundreds of hours of entertainment without requiring anything more than a massive time investment. On the other hand, older gamers and critics often praise the crafted experiences of single-player titles like Astro Bot, God of War: Ragnarok, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. These games offer polished, complete experiences that don’t demand ongoing time commitments or additional purchases to fully enjoy.
We need not look outside of Sony’s own line of first-party titles for more examples. Helldivers 2 set sales records for PlayStation at launch and, the last time we checked, it remains a financial success with a relatively healthy player coutn on Steam in spite of all the latest controversies. Even with Sony’s increased marketing efforts, Astro Bot’s sales isn’t likely to match let alone exceed the revenue generated by Helldivers 2, which is precisely why Sony won’t give up its live service dreams just yet.
The challenge now is for Sony to find a balance between multiple approaches. While live service games offer the potential for long-term revenue streams, they also carry significant risks and development costs. Single-player titles may not generate the same ongoing income, but they can build brand loyalty, critical acclaim, and still be highly profitable if executed well.
Fingers crossed, Sony nails the execution part with Fairgame$ and Marathon. Both are set to be released sometime within the next two years.
