After a high-profile failure with Concord and a major success with Astro Bot last year, PlayStation is shifting its approach to include fewer live-service titles, a greater emphasis on established franchises, and stronger oversight of its in-house studios.
In an interview with the Financial Times, PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst explained that the company aims to minimize costly risks in future game development. “I don’t want teams to always play it safe, but I would prefer that we fail early and affordably when we do.”
Concord was far from a low-cost failure. Analysts estimate Sony invested around $250 million in the game, only to see it perform so poorly that the company pulled it from the market two weeks after launch and subsequently closed its developer, Firewalk Studios. By contrast, Astro Bot launched last year to widespread critical acclaim, earned multiple awards, and sold 2.3 million copies by March 2025, ranking it among the best-selling PlayStation 5 titles.
While the two games differ in many ways, and their development journeys were quite distinct, Hulst’s key takeaway is the need for closer supervision of Sony-owned studios. This would help identify projects heading in the wrong direction—like Concord—before they become costly failures, giving the company a chance to pivot or cancel them in time.
“We’ve since implemented more rigorous and frequent testing across a range of methods,” Hulst stated. “One benefit of every setback is that people now see just how essential that oversight really is.”
The Financial Times also spoke with several leaders of Sony studios, who confirmed that this new oversight means increased focus on group testing, better communication among Sony’s internal teams, and stronger collaboration between studio executives. “If we’re about to step on a major landmine—like another studio making the exact same type of game—that’s valuable information to have,” said Jason Connell, art director at Sucker Punch, the studio behind Ghost of Yōtei.
That sentiment feels especially relevant given Concord’s failure, which analysts attribute to several factors, including market saturation of multiplayer live-service shooters. Hulst suggested in the interview that PlayStation is no longer as focused on releasing a stream of live-service titles as it once was. Even so, the company still has Bungie’s Marathon scheduled for release before March 2026—a game that has sparked concern among Bungie fans due to delays, layoffs, and a general lack of clarity about its content.
Another part of Hulst's strategy involves nurturing more major Sony-owned intellectual properties. Astro Bot’s success was built over multiple installments, with the little robot’s popularity growing with each release. According to the Financial Times, Hulst wants studios to consider how their original IP can evolve into long-running franchises, much like The Last of Us and Uncharted. “We take a deliberate approach to IP creation…understanding how a new idea can become an iconic PlayStation franchise and eventually reach audiences beyond just gaming,” he explained.
Currently in the pipeline, PlayStation is set to release Ghost of Yōtei and Lost Soul Aside this year, with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Housemarque’s Saros scheduled for 2026. Other titles, such as Fairgames, Marvel's Wolverine, Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and Marathon, remain in development.
