Former PlayStation Executive Reveals Studios Favor Live-Service Games for Easier Project Approval

Not to worry, folks, former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has clarified that, as far as he knows, none of the first-party studios working under the PlayStation umbrella have been pressured into creating live-service games. Instead, it appears they’ve voluntarily jumped on board with this “big initiative” because they believe it might increase the chances of their projects gaining the necessary backing.

Yoshida, who is also set to lend his voice to a duck mascot soon, shared these insights during an interview on Sacred Symbols+ (thanks to Push Square for the heads-up). It’s intriguing, though it does sound like the kind of statement you’d expect from someone with his experience in a high-ranking position at a major corporation.

In his explanation about studios not being compelled to pursue live-service games, Yoshida mentioned: “From my experience, when studios notice the company taking on a major initiative, they understand that aligning with it can improve their prospects of getting a project greenlighted and supported.”

He further clarified, “Hermen Hulst [the current head of PlayStation Studios] isn’t mandating teams to develop live-service games,” adding, “It’s probably a mutual agreement.”

While technically he’s not wrong, Yoshida does seem to tiptoe into corporate language territory here. Suggesting that studios are observing their leaders’ enthusiasm for a particular direction and figuring that following suit might help them avoid the dreaded limbo of repeated project rejections doesn’t exactly paint a rosy picture. Ideally, executives should be doing everything they can to curb such scenarios.

Call me an optimist, but companies like PlayStation ought to be cultivating an environment where their top creative teams feel trusted and empowered to propose whatever game they believe aligns best with their strengths and market potential. Instead of everyone jumping on the bandwagon for a company-wide trend, especially into the already challenging live-service arena, why not support innovation and diversity in game design?

That said, I must admit, I haven’t spent the last three decades steering one of the giants in the gaming world. Plus, Yoshida isn’t necessarily endorsing this trend—it seems he’s just pointing out the reality of the situation.

He also commented on the live-service projects PlayStation recently axed, candidly summing it up with: “Yeah, it sucks.”