Sony allegedly trimming PlayStation Studios' 12-game live-service plan Sony's live-service games plan has reportedly been scaled back for PlayStation Studios, with the Japanese company watching similar titles die repeatedly on PS5.Kes Eylers-Stephenson Published 30 Oct 2023 FollowtopicsHELLDIVERS 2Sony Interactive EntertainmentPlayStation 5RumourKes Eylers-Stephenson PlayStation Studios is reportedly easing off the gas on Sony's live-service games push. Over the course of the next few years, Sony's first-party developers were supposed to produce as many as 12 live-service PS5 games, but a recent report suggests plans may have changed.Sony live-service games for PS5 are struggling in developmentThe news comes by way of Xfire, but should be taken with a giant pinch of salt given the source for its story is a supposed insider called 'Head of the Block' on ResetEra. So, sceptical hats on, please!The user stated that "Sony is reversing course and using a third party to catch up on some IPs. I heard Sega has a hand in an old IP that'll wipe the floor." The user concluded with a note that "it's going to be at least 4 years until some of these changes are seen."This follows up reports from former Sony head and developer David Jaffe stating that there is turmoil amongst PlayStation Studios right now over the cancellation of The Last of Us Factions 2.0 at Naughty Dog. Reportedly, this feeling follows from a generally dissatisfied vibe amongst the studios at the turn to games as a service (GAAS). So, with this bad energy brewing, Sony reportedly let former executive Connie Booth take the fall as she 'retired' last week, with most of her staff following her out the door. Jaffe claims to have verifiable emails on the matter.So, let's have a breather from me just throwing news at you here. The first part of the news is from a shaky source, but very much fits the bill with all the fallout of Connie Booth leaving PlayStation. If it is true, it's incredibly interesting that Sony is willing to turn to Sega (some are reporting Bandai Namco is also involved, but we cannot find any sourcing for this) for help given that is a company with zero live service success right now. Indeed, it just cancelled its own GAAS, Hyenas, because it deemed it too risky. Perhaps the pair of companies realise what a risky market this is and are willing to team up to mitigate any issues.For context here, the investment Sony has made into live-service games is massive and has taken up 55% of the total gaming budget. We know that Naughty Dog's live-service version of The Last of Us Factions development has been slowed down while PlayStation Studios realigns all of its projects. Meanwhile, you have three new teams in Sony's family — Bungie, Haven Studios, and Firewalk — all bought with the intention of breaking into the live-service games market. Then you have existing teams like London Studios and Guerrilla Games also making something GAAS.So, if Sony is changing tact, that is an utterly massive ship to stop at this point. Speaking frankly, there seems to be a confusion of wishful thinking and reality in some of the reporting around what is going to happen regarding GAAS. This is total speculation on my part, but it seems to me like Sony has realized that existing teams without expert GAAS staff are being redirected back to single-player games. New teams will have to continue going while third-party deals with publishers like Sega and second-party teams like Arrowhead working on Helldivers 2 can cover the blank spots.In any case, this report might be the most we've heard of Sony's inner workings at PlayStation Studios post-GAAS pivot. If you are interested in learning more about it, I suggest you check out an early article on the matter about PlayStation Stuios' live-service games! What do you think of it all? Is this what you expected? This is a fascinating topic, so get in the comments and let us know what you think!Related stories: Helldivers 2 gets free huge PS5 update packed with secrets Poll: Are you still playing Helldivers 2 on PS5 and PC? Helldivers 2 only lost 51% of PS5 players in wild live-service melee Sony's controversial PC plans continue with forced PSN requirement PS5 Top 40 — Elden Ring dominates as new live-service games struggle RumourPlayStation 5Upcoming Release Written by Kes Eylers-StephensonEditor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and Sony news. He writes about PS5 games like LEGO Horizon Adventures, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Concord, and Death Stranding 2 using experience from years of PlayStation gaming. He also covers PS Plus news, as well as his favorite games — The Witcher 3, God of War, and The Last of Us — before an evening swim.