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In a controversial statement, former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden expressed his disapproval of the company’s current direction towards live services games, stating that these plans have not achieved the desired results so far and that this type of games lacks the essence of creativity that characterized PlayStation’s work in the past.
Leyden, who left the company in 2019 due to his disagreement with its creative direction, said in an interview with The Ringer that live services games are not real games, describing them as interactive repeaters that aim only to keep players occupied without providing a complete storytelling or artistic experience.
He went on to explain his vision:
“For me, a game should have 3 basic elements: This is what made games like Horizon, God of War, and Uncharted truly special. Live service games, on the other hand, are content with a repetitive action that players can easily understand with the ability to communicate with others within the same world and repeat the same experience over and over again.
Leyden emphasized that the wave of success of live service games was a temporary phenomenon that occurred 5 or 6 years ago when games like Fortnite achieved massive global reach. Since then, many companies have tried to imitate the same model through seasonal systems and continuous updates, but most of them failed to achieve the desired success.
He concluded his talk with a striking analogy, saying that the developers of these games are chasing a mirage on top of a sand dune; the closer they get to it, the more it disappears, or they find that what they brought to the scene no one wants to play it anymore.
The statement comes as PlayStation continues to invest in multiple projects in this space amid growing questions from gamers about whether this approach will continue or if the company will return to focusing on the storytelling experiences that have shaped its identity for decades.
