For a while, the PlayStation brand has been evolving. No longer simply meaning the console that sits under your TV, the word “PlayStation” now applies to the brand’s console-exclusive movies, TV shows, or even games appearing on PC.
Now, speaking to a handful of media outlets, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst has outlined a bit more of what lies ahead for PlayStation’s expanding future.
A clear pillar of PlayStation’s business strategy moving forward is live service games, as Sony’s $3.7 billion acquisition of Bungie has already proven. According to Hulst, Bungie’s role in the PlayStation family will be partly to serve as an example of how to handle the live service model.
“I’ve been a longtime fan of Bungie,” the executive told GQ. “They speak our language and they’ve done so for a decade since Destiny’s original release. So the battle scars they’ve earned, coupled with their absolute transparency, means I can’t think of a better partner to have. in this space.
Meanwhile, Hulst told Axios that PlayStation has greenlit a total of 12 projects in the live ops space. This matches the figure Sony Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki said in February when we learned that PlayStation was planning to launch more than ten live service games by March 2026. At the time, Totoki also credited the acquisition of Bungie as one of the main reasons why developing, publishing, and maintaining so many live service games should be possible in this window.
You can probably expect PlayStation’s live service offerings to be a mix of new IP and recognizable franchises. Hulst told GQ that PlayStation has “about 25 titles in development” and about half of the projects in development are new IPs. He also said that PlayStation “isn’t ruling out bringing some of our beloved existing franchises into live games.”
Sony’s recent AAA offerings have largely forgone multiplayer, with games like The Last of Us Part II, Horizon Forbidden West, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and the upcoming God of War Ragnarok serving as single-player experiences. There are exceptions to this, however, with Ghost of Tsushima Legends and Returnal’s multiplayer support both arriving post-launch.
As we know, some Sony studios are developing standalone multiplayer projects instead, rather than bundling them with single-player experiences. We know The Last of Us is getting a standalone multiplayer title, and recent rumors suggest a multiplayer Horizon game could be in the works.
Even though Sony will start pouring more resources into multiplayer live service offerings, Hulst seems to remain committed to Sony’s flagship single-player titles, telling Axios that story-driven single-player games aren’t going anywhere. However, they are apparently taking longer to get here, with a history of delays for Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok, while Spider-Man 2 is currently Sony’s only major exclusive released in the books for 2023, aside from of the society. PSVR 2 packages.
As the wait continues for new PS5 exclusives, PC gamers are finally starting to experience some of the best games the PlayStation 4 has to offer. Recently, franchises like God of War, Spider-Man, and Uncharted have started appearing on PC, which looks set to continue in the future.
Hulst told Reuters that “further investments in areas that will bolster PC expansion” are a definite possibility.
It’s not just a PS5 and PC party from now on, though. In the interview with Axios, Hulst also mentioned bringing more games to PS4 “on a case-by-case basis” and talked about building Sony’s “internal capacity” to make mobile games. Earlier this year, Sony created its PlayStation Studios mobile division. to start working on mobile games based on new and existing IPs.
Finally, when Hulst spoke to Reuters about Sony’s recent investment in developer Elden Ring FromSoftware, Hulst said it was “not unthinkable” that PlayStation Productions could be working on an entertainment adaptation of a FromSoftware property. FromSoftware is the developer of Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Sekiro and the Dark Souls series.
For more on PlayStation, find out how Sony apparently plans to make 2 million PSVR 2 units for launch. Or read how the PS5 has apparently been jailbroken, with people already installing Hideo Kojima’s PT.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of gaming industry experience with signings at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
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