In 2024, Sony shut down its live-service shooter Concord after only two weeks, as it became one the publisher’s most prominent failures. According to Sony Interactive Entertainment chief executive of studio business Hermen Hulst, the biggest lesson from Concord was that more oversight is needed during the development process.
“We have since put in place much more rigorous and more frequent testing in very many different ways,” Hulst told Financial Times. “The advantage of every failure … is that people now understand how necessary that [oversight] is.”
Hulst went on to explain that he wants Sony’s PlayStation studios to make big swings when conceiving future franchises. However, he would also like to catch the failures before they launch.
“I don’t want teams to always play it safe,” noted Hulst. “But I would like for us, when we fail, to fail early and cheaply.”
Following Concord’s demise, Sony subsequently re-committed to live-service titles. Regarding future titles in that genre, Hulst downplayed the importance of how many live-service games are available and said, “What is important to me is having a diverse set of player experiences and a set of communities.”
One of Sony’s next live-service launches is slated to be Marathon, the new game by Bungie. That title has already drawn unfavorable comparisons to Concord, and it was delayed indefinitely in June. Since then, reports have emerged that Bungie is losing its independence to PlayStation Studios. Last week, Bungie’s longtime boss Pete Parsons announced his departure from the company after two decades.
Marathon is expected to be released before the end of Sony’s fiscal year, which runs through March 31, 2026.
