After a clamorous defeat in Concord and a clamorous success in Astro Bot last year, PlayStation wants to adapt its strategy to enable fewer live games, more vast franchise and strict supervision over your own studies.
In an interview with Financial timesHermen Hulst, general director of PlayStation, claims that the company hopes to alleviate the future vast, high-priced risk associated with future games. “I don’t want the bands to always play it safely, but I would like to see us when we were not able to struck early and cheap.”
Concord was not a affordable failure. Analysts estimate that Sony spent about USD 250 million on the game, only on such a poorly sold that Sony closed it two weeks after starting, and closed its developer, Firewalk Studios, shortly after. However, Astro Bot also started last year with Universal Acclaim, winning many awards and Sales 2.3 million copies from March 2025.One of the best -selling PlayStation 5 games.
The differences between these two games are certainly countless, and their developmental stories are also completely different. But Hulst received that there must be more supervision over Sony’s own studies to make sure that games heading towards Concord will be noticed before high-priced failures become so that they can be canceled or improved on time.
The Financial Times talked to many bosses of Sony Studio, who said that this supervision means a greater focus on group tests, greater communication between the internal Sony Studios and closer relations between the most critical study staff. “If we are turning towards a gigantic landing, as if there was a different studio that creates exactly the same game, it is good information,” said Jason Connell, artistic director at Ghost of Yōtei Studio Sucker Punch.
This comment calls especially in the featherlight of Concord’s failure, which according to analysts occurred for many reasons, including the saturation of multiplayer, live shooters. Hulst suggests in an interview that PlayStation is not as intended to give up live service games as it used to be. Having said, PlayStation has a Bungie marathon, which will appear before March 2026, a game in which many Bungie fans concern among delays, dismissals of staff and a general lack of information on what the game entails.
But there is another Hulst strategy also wants to realize: wants more, massive Sony IP. The success of Astro Bota took place during many games, and the petite robot icon grows every time. According to the Financial Times, Hulst wants studies to wonder how their IP can be turned into larger franchises over time, following the footsteps of the last of us and unexplored. “We accept a very deliberate approach to creating IP addresses … Understanding how a new concept can turn into a cult franchise for PlayStation, which can become a franchise for people outside the game,” he said.
Currently, in Docket, PlayStation has the spirit of Yōtei and has lost his soul aside this year, with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Housemarque’s Saros for 2026. Other games, such as Fairgames, Marvel’s Wolverine, Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Hereits Prophet, Marathon and more remain in the works.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior Ign reporter. You can find her post on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.skyla. Do you have a hint with history? Send it to ralentine@ign.com.
