Just a couple of years ago, Sony had a dozen new live service games in development, but that number keeps dropping. It was already down to six by the end of 2023, before the well-received launch of Helldivers II and the disaster that was Concord in 2024. Now, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has confirmed with Sony that two unannounced live service projects have been canceled.
One was from Syphon Filter and Days Gone developer Bend Games, while Schreier reports the other shuttered title was a live-service God of War game that Bluepoint Games “has been working on for the last couple of years.”
Bluepoint Games is one of several developers Sony acquired in recent years as it was building up a queue of live service projects, with many ports and remasters under its belt, including Demon’s Souls, the first three Uncharted games, Shadow of the Colossus, and others. Now, Schreier says the studios won’t close, but there’s no word yet on what their next projects will be.
The live service approach to gaming once seemed wide open following the success of Fortnite and other titles, but games like Concord, Anthem, and Redfall have shown how difficult it can be. At Sony alone, the list of canceled service titles Bloomberg has already reported on included the Spider-Man game revealed by the Insomniac ransomware breach, Twisted Metal, and a Destiny-linked game from Bungie called Payback.
However, we’re still expecting to hear more about Bungie’s revived Marathon extraction shooter and Fairgames, a PvP heist title from Haven Studios.
PlayStation did not say whether the cancellations will lead to layoffs but did say the studios will not close. A spokesperson for PlayStation tells Bloomberg the company is working with Bend and Bluepoint to determine their next projects
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-01-16T23:13:09.439Z