PlayStation Intensifies Game Testing After Concord Flop

Following a high-profile failure with Concord and the breakout success of Astro Bot last year, PlayStation is recalibrating its approach—scaling back on live-service titles, investing more in major franchises, and tightening oversight of its in-house studios.

In an interview with the Financial Times, PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst explained the company aims to reduce exposure to costly, high-risk projects in the future. “I don’t want our teams to avoid innovation, but when we do take risks, I want us to fail early and keep costs contained.”

Concord proved to be anything but a low-cost misstep. Analysts estimate Sony invested roughly $250 million in the title, only to see it perform so poorly that the company pulled the plug after just two weeks and later closed developer Firewalk Studios. In contrast, Astro Bot launched to widespread critical acclaim, collected multiple awards, and by March 2025 had sold 2.3 million copies, ranking among the best-selling PlayStation 5 titles.

While the differences between the two games—and their development journeys—are substantial, Hulst’s key takeaway is the need for stronger supervision of Sony’s studios. Early detection of projects heading in a problematic direction, like Concord, could allow the company to course-correct or cancel them before budgets spiral.

“We’ve since implemented much more rigorous and frequent testing across multiple stages,” Hulst noted. “The silver lining of any setback… is that everyone now recognizes just how essential that oversight truly is.”

The Financial Times also spoke with several Sony studio heads, who shared that the renewed focus on oversight means more collaborative playtesting, improved communication among internal studios, and tighter coordination between top studio executives. “If we’re heading toward a major pitfall—say, another studio is making a nearly identical game—that’s exactly the kind of insight we need,” said Jason Connell, art director at Sucker Punch, the studio behind Ghost of Yōtei.

That remark feels particularly relevant given Concord’s fate, which analysts attribute partly to market saturation in the multiplayer live-service shooter space. In the interview, Hulst signaled that PlayStation is pulling back from its earlier emphasis on launching live-service games. Even so, the company still has Bungie’s Marathon slated for release before March 2026—a title that has some fans concerned amid delays, layoffs, and limited information about its actual gameplay.

Alongside refined oversight, Hulst is pursuing another strategic goal: expanding Sony’s roster of blockbuster IP. Astro Bot’s success didn’t happen overnight; it grew over multiple releases, with the robotic hero gaining fans with each outing. According to the Financial Times, Hulst wants studios to think long-term about evolving new properties into enduring franchises, much like The Last of Us and Uncharted. “We take a deliberate approach to IP development… envisioning how a new idea can become a signature PlayStation series and eventually reach audiences far beyond gaming,” he explained.

On the immediate horizon, PlayStation is preparing to launch Ghost of Yōtei and Lost Soul Aside this year, followed by Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Housemarque’s Saros in 2026. Other projects—including Fairgames, Marvel’s Wolverine, Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and Marathon—are still in development.