Sony really isn’t kidding around with this live service strategy it’s been blathering about. As part of an investor relations presentation, the organisation estimated that more than half of its investment into PS5 could be live service by 2025, as it looks to capture growth in the lucrative sector. For those not clued up with the lingo, live service means titles like Fortnite, which adapt and change over time.

The platform holder spent a large chunk of the briefing defending its position, showing a dizzying amount of data which backs up its direction. Notably, it pointed out how an enormous chunk of its revenue now comes from add-on sales in live service games, with free-to-play revenue alone up from 5 per cent of PS Store’s total spend in 2016 to 25 per cent in 2021.

Consequently, Sony intends to have at least three live service games on the market by the end of March 2023, with MLB The Show 22 being the only one it currently considers available. That number will explode to 12 cumulatively by 2025. Interestingly, it doesn’t appear to count Gran Turismo 7 as a live service title right now.

Elsewhere, the company mentioned that it expects to see significant growth to its PC business, suggesting its live service games will also release there. It concluded that it sees its trajectory as transforming from its “current console-centric approach to a future where large elements of our community extend beyond the console”. Times are a-changing, folks!