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

Don’t worry, folks; former PlayStation bigwig Shuhei Yoshida has reassured us that, as far as he knows, none of the company’s first-party studios have been pressured into developing live-service games. Instead, it seems they’ve willingly joined this “big initiative,” reasoning it boosts their chances of getting their projects greenlit and backed.

Yoshida, who’s soon set to lend his voice to a duck mascot, shared these insights during an interview with Sacred Symbols+ (hat tip to Push Square). It’s intriguing, yet it’s exactly what you’d anticipate from someone once at the helm of a major corporation like PlayStation.

Addressing the notion of studios being coerced into live-service projects, Yoshida explained, “From my experience, when studios notice the company pursuing a major initiative, they perceive that aligning with it increases their odds of securing project approval and support.”

He went on, “It’s not as if [current PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst] is instructing teams to create live-service games. It’s likely a mutual decision.”

While Yoshida isn’t wrong per se, his comments do have a ring of corporate jargon. If studios observe their bosses are enthusiastic about a particular direction and believe that following suit will spare them the frustrations associated with multiple pitch rejections, that doesn’t exactly foster a healthy work environment. It’s something executives should arguably be working to prevent.

Call me an idealist, but wouldn’t it be great if companies like PlayStation could cultivate a setting where flagship studios feel the trust of their superiors? Ideally, they should be able to propose projects they truly believe, drawing on their expertise, are best suited to their talents and market demands. Instead, what’s happening is that everyone is hopping onto a company-wide trend, crowding into the live-service arena that was already difficult to penetrate and achieve massive success, even before PlayStation’s mostly unsuccessful endeavor.

But hey, what do I know? I haven’t spent the last three decades helping steer one of the gaming industry’s giants. However, it’s worth noting that Yoshida doesn’t necessarily endorse this situation; he’s merely acknowledging its existence.

As for the live-service projects PlayStation recently axed, Yoshida had this to say: “Yeah, it sucks.”