Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida reveals he would have resisted Sony's controversial live-service game push, citing inherent risks. Yoshida, who headed SIE Worldwide Studios from 2008 to 2019, expressed concerns to Kinda Funny Games about Sony's significant investment in this volatile market.

This statement comes amidst a period of significant challenges for PlayStation's live-service titles. While Helldivers 2 achieved remarkable success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other ventures have faltered. Concord, a particularly notable failure, was shut down after a short lifespan due to extremely low player numbers, representing a substantial financial loss (estimated at around $200 million, according to Kotaku). This followed the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project and, recently, two further unannounced live-service games.

Yoshida, departing Sony after 31 years, hypothetically positioned himself as current CEO Hermen Hulst, suggesting he would have advocated against the heavy investment in live-service games. He highlighted the potential misallocation of resources away from proven single-player franchises like God of War. While acknowledging Sony's increased resources post-his departure, he emphasized the inherent risk and low probability of success in the highly competitive live-service sector. The unexpected triumph of Helldivers 2 underscores the unpredictable nature of the industry.

Sony's financial reports reflect this mixed bag. President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki acknowledged lessons learned from both Helldivers 2's success and Concord's failure, highlighting the need for earlier user testing and internal evaluations. Totoki also criticized Sony's "siloed organization" and the potentially detrimental release window of Concord, which coincided with the launch of Black Myth: Wukong.

Senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa further emphasized the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord, stressing the importance of sharing lessons learned across studios to improve development management and post-launch content support. Sony's future strategy aims for a balanced portfolio, combining the proven success of single-player titles with the higher-risk, higher-reward potential of live-service games. Several PlayStation live-service games, including Marathon, Horizon Online, and Fairgame$, are still under development.