Threads
- PlayStation’s move from single-player games to live-service projects has led to eight canceled titles and limited first-party releases this generation.
- Iconic studios like Bend and Bluepoint are underutilized, and canceled projects like a live-service God of War game have drawn fan backlash.
- The lack of focus on first-party titles highlights wasted potential, as successful franchises like Days Gone and Resistance are sidelined for risky live-service experiments.
Just in the past generation, Sony created some of the best single-player games under the PlayStation 4. Unfortunately, that momentum was short-lived and lasted momentarily during the early stages of the PlayStation 5.
With 2025 marking almost 5 years since the console’s launch, Sony really hasn’t that first-party games compared to the plethora of releases of the last generation. Despite so many studios under its name harboring some of the best talents in the industry, a lack of first-party titles has been surprising.
This is largely due to PlayStation’s shift towards live-service models, ditching its emphasis on single-player games, which it was best known for. This generation had 12 live service projects in development, eight of which have been canceled.
Why It Matters: Fans have been complaining about the lack of first-party PlayStation games this generation. Sony has other plans, though. Their focus on live service projects has been so strong it is inadvertently harming its studios.
Turning Traditional Games Into Live-Service Projects Always Ends Badly
Now, being honest, I don’t really have a problem with live service games. As a matter of fact, I think that they can contribute to a game’s longevity. However, live-service games should be separate, and they should not be correlated with single-player games.
PlayStation has been doing precisely that within the past few years. Just recently, it was revealed that the gaming giant canceled two live service projects from Bend and Bluepoint Studios.
One project was a God of War game, and the other is speculated to be a live service Days Gone game. It’s mind-boggling why PlayStation even considered doing a live-service God of War game and potentially ruining one of the best gaming franchises ever.
It’s understandable if you have a game like Helldivers transition into a live service game since the first game was a multiplayer title from the beginning, and it worked in PlayStation’s favor.
However, replicating that same success isn’t as simple as applying the concept to single-player titles. It seems that PlayStation didn’t learn anything from Concord’s failure and is still wasting resources on live service games. This makes me wonder how successful Helldivers 2 had to be for PlayStation to be this greedy.
PlayStation Could Be Doing So Much More With It’s First-Party Studios
The lack of first-party PlayStation games could be attributed to the fact that they’re wasting their resources on pointless projects. Currently, there are only 3 PlayStation first-party titles announced. From those announced titles, Ghost of Yotei is the only planned game for this year.
The gaming giant could be doing much more than investing in live service models. By assigning such projects to their first-party studios, they’re wasting their time and creativity.
Take Bend Studios, for instance; the developer known for Days Gone rejected a sequel pitch from PlayStation. Days Gone is a solid first-party PlayStation game and has demanded a sequel from many fans, including me, over the years.
They’ve also previously worked on the Resistance games, a decent FPS franchise from PlayStation that could’ve rivaled Call of Duty given the proper treatment.
In my opinion, Bluepoint Studios receives the worst treatment from PlayStation.
The studio is best known for Shadow of the Colossus Remake, an extremely underrated title in PlayStation’s catalog. They were also behind Demon’s Souls remake, another solid title to support PlayStation 5’s launch.
Moreover, they supported the development of God of War Ragnarok and the original Titanfall game.
However, they’ve only released two games in the past two generations. The only title they were tasked with was a live-service God of War game. Despite the studio being functional, they will again be tasked with development support, or it will be a while before they develop a game.
PlayStation has so much talent at hand, and they refuse to utilize it at all. Even the Bungie acquisition proved to be futile as the company is further shrinking.
I just hope that PlayStation realizes the potential of its studios before it’s too late. The eight canceled projects don’t indicate that they’ve run out of resources.
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[News Reporter]
Shaheer is currently pursuing a Business degree while also working as a part-time Content Writer. With his deep passion for both writing and video games, he has seamlessly transitioned into a role as a Journalist. Over the past two years, Shaheer has contributed as a freelancer to various websites and landed positions on acclaimed platforms like Gamerant. Currently, his role at Tech4gamers is as a Features Writer, but he also covers News occasionally. Shaheer’s favorite gaming franchises are Assassin’s Creed and the God of War series.
Get In Touch: shaheer@tech4gamers.com
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