Sony axes two more live-service games, including one God of War spinoff

By Patrick Hearn Published January 17, 2025

In an apparent response to the Concord disaster, Sony has cancelled two live-service games, including one potential God of War title. However, in a bit of good news in light of the layoffs rocking the game industry, Sony says neither of its two studios are at risk of closure.

Jason Schreier of Bloomberg reports that Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, both PlayStation studios, were working on two separate live service games — a venture Sony has been heavily invested in. Last year, Sony saw one of its worst failures in the launch of Concord, alongside a massive success with Helldivers II. Live service games have proven to be a risky venture, but they are extremely profitable when done well.

Of the two cancellations, one was said to be a live-service God of War title. While no details were given about the gameplay or story, fans have expressed disappointment at the loss of another game in the franchise. And though Sony said the cancellations won’t lead to studio closures, the company wasn’t clear about the potential employment impact. Bloomberg did see an internal Sony memo that said the company was “working closely with Bend and Bluepoint to determine what are the next projects and plan to do everything we can to ensure there is minimal business impact.”

Sony has sought to recapture the profitability of Fortnite and Destiny with its live-service games, but that exact recipe isn’t easy to recreate. At a time when almost every game has a subscription or battle pass, live-service titles need to stand out in some form. Sony originally intended to publish a dozen live-service games before March 2026, but scaled that number back to half in November 2023.