Former PlayStation exec on Jim Ryan's live service plans: 'It hasn't worked out, Sony now has to readjust'

Sony's live service plans haven't worked out according to plan, and former exec Shuhei Yoshida shares his thoughts about the company's current position.

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It's 2026, and Sony originally wanted to have 10 live games out by this time. So far, Sony has only released a handful of games, one of which is now synonymous with total failure (Concord). Others, like MLB The Show 26, become #1 best-sellers by revenue in the US at launch. Marathon, the latest extraction shooter from Bungie, seems to be doing okay too, at least sales-wise; it was #4 in the US and estimates put it at 1.2 million copies sold. Helldivers 2 has also become one of the most popular and fastest-selling PlayStation games of all time, leading the live service charge with single-title sales exceeding 12 million copies on PS5 and PC in just 3 months.

Concord's crash and burn was very costly for Sony, however, and the company has since cancelled multiple live service games, including The Last of Us Online, which was said to be mostly complete before it was scrapped by management. Sony has also shut down some teams, including Concord developer Firewalk, and more recently, Dark Outlaw Games. Other groups like Bluepoint, who made the highly-regarded Demon's Souls remake, were also shuttered.

We have to wonder...what does former Sony management think about these developments?

We've recently seen former PlayStation indies boss Shuhei Yoshida publicly speak out on being fired by Jim Ryan, and now Yoshida is back in the spotlight with more interviews with press.

In a sit-down with Spanish publication MeriStation, Yoshida continued his thoughts about Sony's current pivot away from live service games and double-down into more substantive games.

"Jim Ryan brought with him a major change in strategy, shifting from focusing on first-party games to, let's say, operating on a different scale," Yoshida said.

"[Sony] made a significant investment, and since it hasn't worked out, they now have to readjust. The closures and cancellations are an attempt to correct those bad decisions."

Yoshida left PlayStation in January 2025 after 31 years with the company, and roughly six years working under Jim Ryan, who served as President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment from 2019 - 2024.

Ryan oversaw the critical transition between the PS4 and PS5 generations, leading to explosive growth thanks to coronavirus spending. This treasure trove was reinvested and Sony, spurred on by Fortnite's billions, spent its gains on costly live service titles that mostly seemed to fizzle out.

It's said that Sony is now doubling-down on a steady stream of high-production games while trying to juggle a smaller platter of live services at once--after all, Bungie is trying to simultaneously operate two live games at once right now with Destiny 2 and Marathon.