Just a couple of years ago, Sony had a dozen new live service games in development, but that number keeps decreasing. It was already down to six by the end of 2023, before the successful launch of Helldivers II and the disappointing release of Concord in 2024. Recently, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has confirmed with Sony that two unannounced live service projects have been canceled.
One cancellation involved a title from Syphon Filter and Days Gone developer Bend Games, while Schreier reports that the other shut-down project 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 built up a roster of live service projects, showcasing many ports and remasters, including Demon’s Souls, the first three Uncharted games, Shadow of the Colossus, and more. Currently, Schreier says these studios won’t close, but their upcoming projects remain undisclosed.
The live service model in gaming seemed promising following the success of Fortnite and similar titles, yet games like Concord, Anthem, and Redfall have illustrated the challenges involved. At Sony alone, the list of canceled service titles Bloomberg has reported includes the Spider-Man game revealed by the Insomniac ransomware breach, Twisted Metal, and a Destiny-linked game from Bungie named Payback.
Despite these setbacks, we still anticipate updates on Bungie’s revived Marathon extraction shooter and Fairgames, a PvP heist title from Haven Studios.
PlayStation did not indicate whether the cancellations will result in layoffs, but confirmed that the studios will not close. A spokesperson for PlayStation tells Bloomberg the company is collaborating with Bend and Bluepoint to identify their future projects.
