Most PlayStation live service games cancelled but Horizon Online is next

Between the success of Helldivers 2 and the failure of Concord, it’s hard to guess whether Sony’s push for more live service games will continue as planned or if the publisher is starting to lose faith in the concept.

Despite all the talk of 12 live service games by 2026, the only new titles that have been announced are Bungie’s reboot of Marathon, which is still in development despite the recent layoffs at the studio, and heist-themed shooter Fairgame$ from Haven Studios.

There’s also been a wealth of rumours and leaks around a Horizon multiplayer spin-off. Now, a reliable insider has claimed this Horizon project is the main priority at developer Guerrilla Games, before a new third single-player entry in the series.

When will Horizon 3 on PS5 be released?

Speaking about Guerrilla Games on the Spawn Wave podcast, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said: ‘Horizon Online is their next project, not whatever the third single-player game looks like – that one might be a ways off.’

He also gave insight into Sony’s commitment to the live service gamble, adding: ‘PlayStation’s live service initiative was no joke, everybody was like… it’s live service games all round, and Horizon is one of the few ones that hasn’t been cancelled or hasn’t come out and flopped the way Concord did… so a lot of questions here but a lot of people are working on that online project.’

Is Sony still making live service games?

Although it’s never been clear exactly how many live service games Sony has had in active development, an online spin-off for The Last Of Us was officially canned in December last year, as developer Naughty Dog shifted priority back to single-player games.

A Twisted Metal live service game was also apparently shelved as part of layoffs across Sony in February, alongside other unannounced projects. Although there’s been some speculation that Fairgame$ may also have been cancelled recent rumours suggest that internal testing was ‘very positive’.

Learning that Sony is pivoting away from a focus on live service games would not be a surprise, as there’s been intense speculation that the exit of PlayStation boss Jim Ryan was the result of infighting over the direction of the company.

What is a live service video game?

A live service video game, also referred to as games as a service (GAAS), is any title which is intended to continue indefinitely, as popularised by long-running online titles such as Counter-Strike, League Of Legends, Fortnite, and Apex Legends.

Live service titles are invariably multiple online games, and given that they’re often (but not always) free to download they generate money via microtransactions, battle passes, andsubscriptions.

They’re controversial with some gamers because while the most successful are highly profitable most fail within the first few months, wasting time and resources that is often taken away from single-player games.

Although it’s still not clear who was on which side, if Schreier is correct, and multiple live service titles have been cancelled, then the focus may be shifting back towards a more even balance between live service games and single-player titles such as the recently announced Ghost Of Yōtei.

While a third Horizon single-player game is all but guaranteed at some point there’s plenty of other Horizon games in the pipeline. A remastered version of the original game, Horizon Zero Dawn, is set to come out on October 31, which will be followed by Lego spin-off, Lego Horizon Adventures, on November 14.

Elsewhere on the same podcast, Schreier also discussed the current state of Xbox and its future handheld plans.

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