Sony is ramping up R&D costs to fuel live service games, report claims

A new report from Nikkei Claims that Sony will increase its monetary investments in research and development areas by around 10 percent this fiscal year to aid its push into the live service space. The investment will total about 300 billion yen ($2.13 billion) and represent about 40 percent of the company’s overall R&D costs for the fiscal year.

In comparison, Sony’s gaming sector spent 271.1 billion yen on R&D in its last fiscal year, and then 144.5 billion yen the year before that. Thus, the research and development expenditure of this financial year represents a substantial increase compared to the previous financial blocks. “After long relying on sales of its PlayStation game consoles, the company will now focus on live service games that let customers buy add-ons for titles streamed online,” the outlet claims.

Sony has already begun sharing what its live service future will look like — along with traditional single player games — during its most recent announcements of FairGame$ and Concorde. PlayStation Showcase. An online title from Naughty Dog based on The Last of Us Multiplayer is also in the works, but it seems to have run into development issues. In total, Sony plans to bring 12 Live Service games to market by the end of fiscal 2026, and has brought Destiny maker Bungie on board to help ensure they’re all of good quality.

That’s why Naughty Dog has put its multiplayer project on the back burner for the time being, according to a Bloomberg report by Jason Schreier. “Bungie raised questions about The Last of Us multiplayer project’s ability to keep players engaged long-term, prompting a reassessment,” the journalist claimed in May.