Sony has revealed they are now investing more money in live service games than in traditional single-player games. While the company won’t abandon single-player games, the investment gap between the two will grow further going forward.
Sony won’t leave single-player games behind completely
Back in 2019, Sony was investing 88% of its budget in single-player games, with 12% allocated for live service titles. This year, the publisher expects just 45% of its budget in traditional games and a bigger 55% in live service according to the latest financial results. That investment is set to increase to 60% by FY25.
The current plan is to release “two or more” first-party PS5 exclusives per year that will cover “every major genre.” These will be a mix of single-player and live-service games. While the proportion of spending on single-player games is set to decrease in the future, Sony will still put a hefty chunk towards them. According to the financial charts, Sony plans to spend marginally more money on single-player games in FY25 than it did in FY19; however, no actual figures were revealed.
Sony Interactive Entertainment head Hermen Hulst revealed the company currently has 12 live service games in development (as per Tom Warren). Those games include a The Last of Us multiplayer game, an online project set in the Horizon universe, the newly revealed FairGame$ from Haven, Destiny 2, MLB The Show 23, and a game from Firewalk Studios.
Noticeably absent from the list is Deviation Games, whose PS5-exclusive title is rumored to be canceled following layoffs at the studio. The game was also absent from today’s PlayStation Showcase 2023, which included reveals of Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake, Metal Gear Solid Collection, and many more.
