Insider say Concord is the reason PlayStation is canceling live service games

Sony has already made clear their direction toward live service games, however, apart from Helldivers 2, the company hasn’t been able to set foot in the market. What’s more is that since the announcement, the company has canceled two live service titles in development. An insider now reveals that Concord may be the reason why these games were canceled.

Everyone remembers Concord, the alleged $800 million game which released far too late into the hero shooter market. With an upfront price tag and repetitive gameplay that can be found with other free live-service games, Concord failed to capture an audience and was shut down within two weeks of release along with Firewalk Studios.

Even before Concord, other live service projects were quietly canceled. Most recently, two more first-party live service games by PlayStation were ditched before release. Talking about this, Jeff Grubb said he has been told that these games were also canceled thanks to the Concord effect. The game reportedly left Sony checking on other live-service games.

Also Read: PlayStation abandons two more live service games including a God of War game

Sony checking the fun factor of live service game

Sony is still standing strong behind their push for live-service games, although if what Jeff was told is true, the company may need to check on every game to make sure it is not something generic that can face a pushback from the community and create another Concord situation which Sony would very much like to avoid.

Even the former PlayStation boss, Shuhei Yoshida, thinks that the live-service push is risky for the company. Yoshida said that Sony already knew the risk of these kinds of games that’s why they haven’t abandoned single-player titles.

Sony faced both success and failure in the same year with Helldivers 2 and Concord. Good live service games that can keep players engaged are hard to come by in today’s market where every company is trying to do the same thing. To be successful, the game needs something unique which might be the reason why the company is reassessing all current live-service projects in development.