Topics: PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, The Last Of Us, The Last Of Us Part 2, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla Games, Horizon Forbidden West, Horizon Zero Dawn, God Of War, Santa Monica Studio, Marvels Spider Man, Insomniac Games, Ghost Of Tsushima, Ghost of Yotei, Sucker Punch, Uncharted
PlayStation has pledged its commitment to delivering “highly narrative-driven” single-player games, and I’m so very glad to hear it.
I don’t think it’s controversial to say that such games are the very lifeblood of PlayStation.
To see that evidenced, you only need to look at some of the company’s biggest first-party franchises; The Last of Us, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon, and Uncharted all tick the boxes of being both narrative-driven and single-player.
There’s Ghost of Tsushima, Astro Bot, Ratchet & Clank … the list goes on.
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Which does lead you to wonder why fans might need reassurance that single-player games aren’t going anywhere.
Well, you may be familiar with the fact that in the last couple of years, Sony embarked on a rather fruitless mission to conquer the live-service realm of gaming.
It’s reported that Sony greenlit 10 live-service PlayStation titles, many of which have since been cancelled.
Concord is, to date, the biggest flop of all said live-service attempts.
Concord spent a whopping eight years in development yet was delisted after just two weeks; that would have been a huge financial loss for Sony.
We know that a multiplayer game set within The Last of Us universe at Naughty Dog was canned, as was an unknown multiplayer title in development with Bend Studio.
A Twisted Metal live-service title was also reportedly amongst those cancelled, as was a Marvel’s Spider-Man multiplayer spin-off.
Bungie’s Marathon remains in development, as does a Horizon multiplayer entry from Guerrilla Games which I’m imagining we could see land before a third mainline entry.
But it doesn’t seem this obsession with live-service is at the forefront of Sony’s mind any longer.
As reported by TweakTown, Sony has reiterated its commitment to single-player games within a new corporate report filing.
It’s not an extensive declaration, but the report does state that "highly narrative-driven single-player games” are a key growth opportunity.
In all honesty, these types of companies are always going to follow the money; in this instance, it’s just a relief that that aligns with what we, as the players, want.
PlayStation’s upcoming announced first-party titles prove that we’re in safe hands.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is on the way in the coming years from Naughty Dog, with SuckerPunch’s Ghost of Yōtei set to land in a matter of weeks.
Hopefully, both projects will prove that Sony is at its best when it's delivering the story-driven single-player releases fans yearn for.
