Sony’s live-service shooter Concord barely lasted two weeks before shutting down in 2024. It became one of the publisher’s most visible stumbles. Now, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s head of studio business, Hermen Hulst, says the collapse forced the company to rethink how its teams test games during development.
Concord shows why oversight matters
Speaking to the Financial Times, Hulst admitted that Concord’s reception highlighted weaknesses in Sony’s internal processes. “We have since put in place much more rigorous and more frequent testing in very many different ways,” he explained. The short-lived project made one lesson clear: oversight can’t wait until launch.
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Sony wants risk-taking, but earlier detection of failure
Hulst emphasized that he doesn’t want PlayStation Studios to play it safe. Bold swings are still encouraged, but Sony aims to catch problems earlier. “I don’t want teams to always play it safe,” he said. “But I would like for us, when we fail, to fail early and cheaply.”
This shift means PlayStation will push creative risks while tightening its testing cycles, hoping to avoid another high-profile shutdown like Concord.
Live-service ambitions continue after Concord
Despite the flop, Sony hasn’t abandoned live-service. Hulst said the focus isn’t on volume but on variety, stressing that what matters most is offering “a diverse set of player experiences and a set of communities.”
Upcoming projects include Marathon, Bungie’s revival of its classic franchise. However, that game has already faced delays, unflattering comparisons to Concord, and internal turbulence. Bungie’s longtime CEO Pete Parsons stepped down earlier this month, while reports suggest the studio is losing independence under PlayStation’s control.
Sony’s next test: Marathon
Marathon is still expected to arrive before the end of Sony’s fiscal year on March 31, 2026. Whether it avoids Concord’s fate will depend on whether Sony’s new oversight approach can steer its live-service strategy back on course.
Concord may be gone, but its failure has already reshaped how PlayStation intends to build the future of its biggest bets.
