Sony has been hitting a rough patch with its live service games lately. Recently, they had to scrap Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer game and faced a rocky launch with Concord, which ultimately led to the closure of its developer, Firewalk. Amidst these challenges, Sony is doubling down on its commitment to big, story-driven single-player experiences.
During a recent investor call, Sadahiko Hayakawa, the company’s finance and IR chief, assured stakeholders of Sony’s dedication to releasing significant single-player titles. While there might be a dry spell with no major first-party games rolling out before the end of the current financial year, ending in March 2025, Hayakawa promised an exciting lineup every year after that.
So, what’s brewing in Sony’s single-player universe? Hayakawa dropped a hint during the same call, mentioning Ghost of Yōtei from Sucker Punch, a sequel to the wildly successful Ghost of Tsushima from 2020. This much-anticipated game is set for a 2025 release and clearly fits Sony’s vision for major solo adventures.
Adding to the excitement, Sony plans to bring Death Stranding 2: On the Beach to gamers as a PS5 exclusive sometime in 2025, which means fans have at least two big titles to look forward to next year.
Peering further into the future, Insomniac, known for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, is busy developing a Wolverine game, though a release date is still under wraps. Then there’s Sony Santa Monica, famous for God of War, also crafting something new. Guerrilla is expected to complete the Horizon trilogy with another grand adventure, though that’s reportedly still on the horizon. Naughty Dog, too, is cooking up multiple single-player projects.
Elsewhere, Bend Studio, the brains behind Days Gone, has a fresh IP in development, and Media Molecule, known for LittleBigPlanet and Dreams, is also working on something new. Housemarque, the minds behind Returnal, along with Bluepoint Games and Firesprite, are busy with their projects. Polyphony Digital is surely pouring effort into Gran Turismo 7, and after the success of Astro Bot, everyone’s eager to see what Team Asobi will develop next.
There’s plenty to keep gamers excited at PlayStation Studios over the coming years, as long as the PS5 remains alive and kicking until we see the advent of a PS6. Meanwhile, Sony is pushing forward with live-service titles like Guerrilla’s Horizon Online, Bungie’s Marathon, and Haven’s Fairgame$, all under development.
Simultaneously, Sony is continuing its partnerships with external developers to launch single-player games first on PS5. Collaborations include titles like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake, 16, and 7 Rebirth, Shift Up’s Stellar Blade, Game Science’s record-breaking Black Myth: Wukong, Team Ninja’s Rise of the Rōnin, and Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 Remake.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter at @wyp100 or reach him via email at [email protected], or contact him confidentially at [email protected].
