Former PlayStation Executive Claims Studios Pursue Live-Service Games for Better Project Approval and Support

Don’t worry everyone, Shuhei Yoshida, a former PlayStation executive, has reassured fans that, to his knowledge, none of the in-house studios at PlayStation have been forced to dabble in making live-service games. Instead, it’s more likely that they’ve willingly hopped onto this trend, believing it might boost the likelihood of their projects getting the green light and gaining support.

During an interview with Sacred Symbols+ (shout-out to Push Square for the heads-up), Yoshida shared these insights. It’s an interesting perspective, albeit somewhat expected from someone who’s once held a top position at a major company.

Addressing the topic of live-service games, Yoshida explained, “From what I’ve seen, when studios notice the company investing heavily in a particular direction, [they realize] aligning with that gives them a better shot at having their projects approved and backed.”

He added, “It’s not like Hermen Hulst, the current head of PlayStation Studios, is ordering teams to develop live-service games. It seems more of a shared understanding.”

While Yoshida is technically correct, his remarks seem to indulge in a bit of corporate jargon. If you suggest that studios, seeing their higher-ups excited about something, think aligning themselves with that initiative will save them from the precarious state of facing multiple rejections, it raises some concerns. Surely, this isn’t the healthiest situation for a company, and it’s something that executives should work to prevent.

Maybe I’m being a tad idealistic, but shouldn’t companies like PlayStation aim to create an environment where their leading studios feel trusted and can pitch ideas they believe fit their strengths and market demands? Instead of everyone jumping on a company-wide trend that already proved challenging in the live-service domain—even before PlayStation’s recent endeavors hit some rough patches.

But what do I know? I haven’t spent decades playing a key role at one of the largest gaming companies. Plus, to give credit where it’s due, Yoshida didn’t necessarily paint this as a positive thing, just a reality.

He also commented on the recent cancellations of PlayStation’s live-service projects with, “Yeah, it sucks.”