PlayStation needs multiplayer games to grow

Sony is increasingly shifting its focus towards multiplayer games and live servicesa move that GamesIndustry editor Christopher Dring called mandatory for the company to grow significantly in the video game industry.

Under the leadership of Jim Ryan, PlayStation Studios has announced numerous multiplayer projects which will be released in the next few years, about a dozen by 2026 to be precise.

This change in focus has raised several concerns among players, who fear that this decision may affect the production of traditional single player games that have made PlayStation famous in the last decade.

For Christopher Dring, this move by Sony is right and inevitable. He pointed out that unless Sony fails to develop successful multiplayer games to increase revenues in the software industry, it will be difficult for the company to achieve significant growth.

He also highlighted that Sony started investing in this sector late but has the advantage it has an already loyal player base via the PlayStation Network (PSN).

Dring said that PlayStation’s installed base, while impressive in terms of numbers, it hasn’t grown much in 20 years and that revenue growth was primarily fueled by subscriptions and digital channels.

He also clarified that this does not mean that Sony will completely abandon single player games, as these still generate profits in the short and medium term but are subject to significant risks due to their increasingly higher production costs. Growth in this sector is more gradual, and in some ways limited, compared to live service games which generate constant and considerable revenue.

In summary, according to Dring, Sony is forced to push itself further into the world of multiplayer games and live services to ensure more significant growth in the video game market but this does noton means that it will completely abandon single player gameswhich will continue to be part of its product portfolio, as well as a trademark that is impossible to ignore.