# Wasting a Generation: Sony's Live Service Graveyard [Sony Cancels Two More PlayStation Projects in Broader Retreat](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-16/sony-cancels-two-more-playstation-projects) by Jason Schreier for Bloomberg (paywalled) > "Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation has canceled previously unannounced games at two of its top subsidiaries, the company said Thursday. > > The games, at Oregon-based Bend Studio and Texas-based Bluepoint Games, were both “live service” projects designed to draw recurring revenue from players. > > A company spokesperson confirmed the cancellations..." And then on Bluesky, Jason [said](https://bsky.app/profile/jasonschreier.bsky.social/post/3lfvguewrts2i) that Bluepoint's game specifically was a live-service *God of War* game.[^1] He did not say what Bend has been working on. So much for [12 live service titles by March 2026](https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-playstation-to-launch-more-than-10-live-service-games-by-2026), huh? That number was [cut in half](https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-commits-to-launch-just-six-of-playstations-12-live-service-games-by-march-2026) in November 2023. I know the window isn't set to close for another year, but let's go ahead and check in. Here are the live service titles that have been released so far... - Gran Turismo 7 (?) - *Helldivers II* - *[[Concord and the Coat of Many Failures|Concord]]* 🪦 - *MLB The Show*(s) - *Destiny 2* Expansions Here are the known, outright cancelled projects... - *[[Concord and the Coat of Many Failures|Concord]]* 🪦 (and the studio itself) - *[Spider-Man: The Great Web](https://youtube.com/watch?v=kzOZZpRt3bs)* - *[[Naughty Dog Cancels The Last of Us Online|The Last of Us Online]]* from Naughty Dog - *God of War* title from Bluepoint - Bend's Mystery Game - London Studio's game ([and the studio itself](https://www.gamesindustry.biz/playstations-london-studio-shuts-down-after-over-20-years)) And here are what I remember/know/guess are still in development under the "live-service," online multiplayer umbrella - *Fairgame$* - *Horizon* Online, co-op. MMO project - *Ghost of Yōtei Legends*[^2] Circling back to the top, I hesitate to call *GT7* live service because I don't really know how Sony classifies it. I assume live service given all the regular updates and the microtransactions that are throughout the game. *Helldivers II* popped last year. We all know what happened with *[[Concord Put on Ice|Concord]]* and Firewalk Studio. Both *MLB The Show* and *Destiny 2* were guarantees, although in the case of *Destiny 2*, the quality was not so much. The graveyard of live service titles is prolific. Games from Sony's top studios litter the landscape with years of development and untold millions buried beneath the all too fresh soil. Two entire studios have been shuttered in Sony's chase of the live service goldmine. Teams of people have been laid off as studios hired for these projects and then had no need for online expertise, per se. On the horizon, these feel like more "slam dunks" solely in regards to release. *Fairgame$* is the only one I could see getting a preemptive axe, but I sort of feel like that would have already happened? Hermen Hulst will make any new *Horizon* game come out. *Ghost of Tsushima Legends* was a surprise hit and I assume *Yōtei* will also receive a multiplayer mode. When you look back over the last five years of the PS5, it's like that [meme](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AbqGma7prVQ/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEhCK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAxMIARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD&rs=AOn4CLAu7_zDsobWRTh1ea8IU0MX1X5xUw) of Death walking down the hall and behind each door is a live service ambition. In the wake of all this "death," what I think about is the squandered potential. How many single player games are years behind because of this pursuit? How many jobs were created and lost? What does it mean for the upcoming generation? How does the reaction *now* shift plans made months and years ago? We will feel the ripple of this live service tangent for years to come. [^1]: *God of War: Ascension* lives! [^2]: Pure speculation on my part, but having [an anime made from the first game's multiplayer](https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/announcements/2025/1/7/ghost-of-tsushima-legends-anime-series-2027-crunchyroll?srsltid=AfmBOooDOUc3_tzTzlDNI-vhehttP7BcI6Wm2KGlGiXEd0GbWX5SIcix) is a pretty good indicator for a sequel, I think.