Sony is facing sharp criticism after a costly failure tied to its push into live service gaming. The company spent up to $400 million developing Concord, a multiplayer title that sold about 25,000 copies in its first two weeks. Sony pulled the game from sale shortly after launch. The studio behind it was shut down within two months. That puts the cost at roughly $16,000 per copy sold.
Concord leaned hard into identity-first design choices that many players saw as forced. Character introductions emphasized pronouns. Visual designs avoided traditional appeal in favor of what critics called intentionally awkward or unappealing looks. The result felt less like a game built for players and more like a product built to check boxes.
Games are entertainment, not lectures. When players feel like they are being talked at instead of engaged, they walk away. That’s exactly what happened here. This is where the broader frustration sets in. Many fans believe Sony stopped listening. Instead of building on what worked, the company chased trends and layered in messaging that didn’t connect with its core audience. The result was a product that felt out of touch in both design and purpose.
Shuhei Yoshida, a longtime PlayStation executive, said he was removed from leading Sony’s internal studios after rejecting the company’s shift in strategy. Yoshida led PlayStation Studios for more than a decade and oversaw major hits including God of War, The Last of Us, Uncharted, and Ghost of Tsushima. These titles followed a traditional model where players buy a complete game once. Sony earned billions under that approach. Marvel’s Spider-Man generated about $315 million in digital sales, while The Last of Us Part II brought in nearly $250 million. God of War Ragnarök sold 15 million copies and earned $279 million from digital downloads alone.
In 2019, former PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan pushed the company toward live service games, a model built on ongoing player spending through in-game purchases. Ryan set a goal of releasing 12 live service titles by 2025. Yoshida opposed the plan and later said at an industry event in Australia that he was forced out for refusing what he described as “ridiculous” demands. He stayed with Sony in a reduced role working with independent developers.
Most of those planned projects never made it to market. Eight of the 12 live service games were canceled during development. A multiplayer project tied to The Last of Us was scrapped in 2023. Other canceled efforts included a Twisted Metal title, a fantasy project from a London-based studio that was later closed, and a live service concept tied to God of War. Sony also shut down Bluepoint Games in early 2026, despite its work on well-received remakes of Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus. A Destiny spin-off was canceled, and partner studio Deviation Games closed without releasing a title.
Only one project from the initiative broke through. Helldivers 2 became a major hit. However, its developer Arrowhead is not owned by Sony and has indicated it will not continue the partnership for its next game. The financial impact has been significant. Sony spent $3.7 billion to acquire Bungie, the studio behind Destiny, and has cut roughly 1,500 jobs across multiple studio closures. Analysts and players say the PlayStation 5 era now lacks the steady flow of major single-player titles that once defined the brand.
The company has also faced ongoing backlash over business decisions stretching back years. Critics point to rising subscription prices, cuts to game libraries, and hardware pricing concerns such as the $699 PlayStation 5 Pro, which launched without a disc drive. Sony has also reversed course on several policies after public pressure, including attempts to restrict digital stores and force account requirements tied to online play.
Some longtime fans argue Sony has moved away from its roots in Japanese game development. The company shifted its global headquarters from Tokyo to California in 2016 and later closed Japan Studio, ending support for franchises like Gravity Rush and Ape Escape. Content policies have also drawn scrutiny, with reports of stricter standards applied to Japanese titles.
Recent leadership comments suggest a change in direction. Sony’s current leadership has said the company aims to “fail early and fail cheaply” after years of high-cost setbacks. The statement reflects a shift in tone following billions in spending and multiple canceled projects, but it also raises questions about how Sony plans to rebuild trust with developers and players.
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