In a report published by Nikkei, it was revealed that Sony intends to ‘pour’ financial resources into gaming research and development – to the tune of around $2.13 billion. That’s reportedly an investment that’s being made before the end of fiscal year 2024, and it’ll account for a whopping 40% of Sony’s entire R&D spending.
Not only that but Sony Group has also expressed a desire to pivot towards a model that focuses much more succinctly on live service titles, with Nikkei’s article referencing the fact that ‘Sony itself has yet to make a splash in live service games.’
PlayStation to Pivot
For years, PlayStation’s bread and butter has been in remarkable single-player exclusives, which have dominated markets globally but don’t typically have much staying power – unless sequels are released, of course. That’s partly why, in 2022, Sony stepped up and bought out Bungie for $3.7 billion, recognising that the minds that brought the world Destiny could offer something unique in the ever-growing market of live service games.
According to the report published by Nikkei.com, Sony plans to allocate a staggering 60% of all PlayStation 5 development spending to live service games exclusively for the year ending March 2026. It was also stated that there’s a grand goal in place to have no fewer than twelve live service games in the PlayStation portfolio within that same timeline.
Furthermore, it was explained that Sony Group also has plans to break into the metaverse in a much more meaningful way, exploring avenues made up of ‘extended reality’ and making use of studios around the world to drive research and development into the space.
Are you excited about the premise of more live service games in the industry?
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the claim that Assassin’s Creed Red will launch in 2024
