Recently, it came to light that Sony Interactive Entertainment decided to pull the plug on live service projects from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, and the culprit seems to be Concord. According to gaming insider Jeff Grubb, who discussed this on the Game Mess Decides podcast, the fallout from Concord’s rough launch has caused Sony to reconsider its entire strategy.
In the podcast chat, Grubb explained that the decision to cancel these projects was heavily influenced by Concord’s shaky start. Just two weeks post-launch, the servers for Concord were shut down, leaving a bad taste and prompting Sony to take a closer look at all their pending ventures, with their live service plans facing the most scrutiny.
Grubb put it bluntly, “This happened because of Concord, that’s the clear message I received.” He went on to say, “Sony’s been knocked for a loop by Concord, and now they’re reviewing every project at each studio. Any project involving live service is now facing significant hurdles, making it tough for them to move forward.”
The likelihood of greenlighting new live service projects from Sony seems to be dwindling. “They realize the challenges,” Grubb added.
While this shift might sound like welcome news to some PlayStation fans who prefer traditional games, it spells trouble for game developers. As Grubb pointed out, Sony’s emphasis on live service projects provided developers with a secure path to funding. Now, securing funds for more conventional projects could be trickier.
Before these cancellations took place, Bluepoint Games was in the midst of crafting a God of War multiplayer game, though Bend Studio’s project details remain under wraps. Despite these setbacks, Sony is reportedly collaborating with both studios on future endeavors. This reassessing period is promising in that it doesn’t result in studio closures, but it might mean we won’t see new releases from these teams until a new console generation surfaces.
(Source: Jeff Grubb’s Game Mess)
