PlayStation Studios boss promises its live service games will cover a range of genres and scales
The proof will come from the pudding.
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PlayStation is supposedly due to receive 10 live service games by 2026, but PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst promises they'll cover a range of genres.
Last year, Sony expressed plans to release 10 live service games by 2026, a tall task, especially for a format of gaming that really has to excel to be viable. There is obviously the question of whether all of them will be successful, but in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Hulst clarified that all of its plans for live service titles don't necessarily mean that they'll all be in the vein of Fortnite or Destiny.
"We understand the competitive environment that is out there, and the time investment from players that live services offer," Hulst explained. "And we want to deliver the highest quality games. There is a risk that we talk about 'live service' in generic terms – as if it is a single genre, or even a single business model.
"PlayStation Studios are making a variety of games that could be referred to as 'live services', targeting different genres, different release schedules, and at different scales. We are also creating games for different audiences, and I take confidence from our track record in creating worlds and stories that PlayStation fans love."
Sony has made a number of acquisitions of the past year and a bit showing that it really is planning to lean into live service titles in its future. The biggest is obviously that of Bungie, developer of the Destiny series. Shortly after that it also acquired Haven Studios, a team led by Jade Raymond who's best known as the co-creator of Assassin's Creed, which is currently working on a multiplayer title. And just last month PlayStation acquired Firewalk Studios, a studio also working on a multiplayer game, led by former Destiny, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty developers.
Not to mention there's Naughty Dog's unnamed The Last of Us multiplayer spinoff, which is yet to be properly revealed. All of which points to slightly more traditional live service titles at this point in time, so we'll have to wait and see how varied these games actually are.