PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst is seeking to minimize costly risks in future game development following the unsuccessful launch of the live-service shooter Concord. He emphasized the importance of learning from failure.
Hulst stated that he doesn’t want teams to always play it safe, but would like for the company to fail early and cheaply when they do fail. In response to Concord’s failure, PlayStation has implemented increased oversight of its owned studios. “We have since put in place much more rigorous and more frequent testing in very many different ways…The advantage of every failure…is that people now understand how necessary that [oversight] is,” Hulst explained.
The failure of Concord came at a significant cost, with analysts estimating that it cost Sony approximately $250 million. The game was shut down just two weeks after its release, resulting in the closure of its developer, Firewalk Studio. This outcome starkly contrasts with the success of Astro Bot, which sold 1.5 million copies in its first month and reached 2.3 million copies by March of this year.
Hulst indicated that PlayStation is now less focused on releasing live-service games, a shift influenced by Concord’s performance. This in in direction aligns with statements from Sony’s CFO, Lin Tao, who conceded earlier this month that their live-service strategy is “not entirely going smoothly.” The struggles with live-service games are not isolated to PlayStation, as evidenced by Bungie’s Marathon reboot being indefinitely delayed after its initial unveiling.
Hulst’s Sony’s intellectual properties Sony’s intellectual properties into enduring franchises, similar to the positive reception garnered by each Astro Bot game. “We take a very intentional approach to IP creation…understanding how a new concept can turn into an iconic franchise for PlayStation, that can then again become a franchise for people beyond gaming,” Hulst said, highlighting the ambition to extend PlayStation franchises beyond the realm of gaming.
