As Sony cancels two live service projects the studios behind them get assurance they will not be shut down and are valued members. Live service games are a mixed bag that can become cash cows with seemingly endless revenue, or fail miserably only to bring great loathing from players who see their favorite franchise dismantled into its bare essentials or feel their time and money have been wasted on a shallow clone for a cash grab. While Sony has not said exactly why it chose to cancel these unannounced projects, it assuredly knows there are risks and rewards for such ventures.
Even as Sony cancels two live service projects it more than likely has others in the works. Given the success of Helldivers 2, it’s probable to be re-examing options for other franchises. However, the failure of Concord is a red flag that not every live service game should move forward. PlayStation Studios is far from the only publisher to lose money on a live service game. Other titles that have been considered live-service flops are: Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Ubisoft’s XDefiant and Skull & Bones, BioWare’s Anthem, Amazon Games’ Crucible, Epic Games’ Paragon, and EA’s Knockout City.
Avoiding Studio Shutdowns:
Texas-based Bluepoint Games and Oregon-based Bend Studio are the teams behind Sony’s canceled projects. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier confirmed that Bluepoint had been working on a live-service God of War game but it remains unknown what title Bend was developing. Meanwhile, a Sony spokesperson has confirmed the cancellations were made following a recent review but also gave praise to the teams.
Per Sony (via Bloomberg):
“Bend and Bluepoint are highly accomplished teams who are valued members of the PlayStation Studios family, and we are working closely with each studio to determine what are the next projects,”
Although Sony has said it doesn’t plan on closing either studio it did not reveal if any staff reduction measures are in consideration.