PlayStation Boss Says Story-Driven Games Will Remain the “Bedrock” of Sony First Party

Sony has continued to aggressively expand its efforts in the live service space in recent years, and with the likes of Concord and Fairgame$, the company has also started to reveal some of the live service titles it currently has in the pipeline. And while some have been concerned that that will mean reduced emphasis on the narrative-driven experiences that PlayStation first party has become synonymous with, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has said that that is not the case.

His quotes come from a Q&A session with analysts from 2022 that was leaked as part of the recent Microsoft court document leaks. When asked whether Sony’s plans to double its revenue from first party games relies entirely on the company’s 10 live service titles due out before April 2026 (that has increased to 12 releases in the same period since this particular Q&A session), Ryan said that Sony doesn’t expect all of those releases to be successful, while whether or not they are viewed as successful will also vary from case to case. He went on to add that the company will also continue to publish the “narrative-rich” titles it has become known for, which, according to him, will remain a “bedrock” of PlayStation’s first party efforts.

“It would be naïve for us to assume that all 10 will be massive successes so that is not a necessary condition for us to double first party revenues,” Ryan said (via Reddit). “That is certainly not what we’re assuming. Clearly, the distinction between a hit and not a hit is not a binary one. And don’t forget that as we do this, we will continue to publish the games that have served us so well over the years. These single player, graphically beautiful narrative rich games will continue to be the bedrock of our first party publishing business.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time that PlayStation’s leadership has made such statements. Back in March last year, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst said Sony’s studios will “always carry on making single-player narrative-based games.”

Meanwhile, during his Q&A with analysts, Ryan also said that he and publishers in the industry view Game Pass as “value destructive”. Read more on that through here.