The PlayStation 4's many millions of units sold have been buoyed by a number of hit games, such as God of War and The Last of Us Part 2. Yet, a number of PlayStation developers are either voluntarily or involuntarily leaving Sony's first-party studios, according to a new report - an exodus that could come back to bite the company if it doesn't turn the situation around. There's a reason for this crisis, and Sony has a few possible paths to fix it.

Sony owns 13 active development studios. While some of these are only named after their locations, like Santa Monica Studio or Japan Studio, others have unique branding, often because they were acquired instead of founded by Sony. Examples of the latter include Naughty Dog, Media Molecule, Guerilla Games, and Sucker Punch Productions. Since 2009, the company has shut seven developers, the most recent being Manchester Studio in 2020.

Related: Why Remake The Last Of Us Now?

Sony has become risk-averse, preferring to funnel money into surefire hits rather than let these developers explore their own paths, according to a report from Bloomberg. One case involved a team that formed with the idea of shifting from helping other projects into producing remakes, including a forthcoming PS5 remaster of The Last of Us. Sony let work begin but never supplied enough funding or support, eventually handing the project over to series creator Naughty Dog, which led to most of the spinoff team's leaders disbanding or exiting Sony entirely. Sony also reorganized the team responsible for games like Gravity Rush, according to Bloomberg, specifically telling developers it no longer wants to make games that are only successes in Japan. This reorganization led to "mass departures."

How Sony Could Stop Developers From Leaving Its First-Party Studios

Joel in a forest in The Last of Us Remastered

To stop the bleeding, Sony needs to acknowledge games can't always be guaranteed hits - however good that might look on a ledger - and that trying to follow such formulas can result in stagnation. Extinguishing creative freedom is bound to drive away talent that would rather go independent than churn out predictable material. Most blockbuster franchises, like Assassin's Creed and Final Fantasy, started as original concepts, and, often, the worst entries of these AAA series are the ones built for a quick turnaround.

Since it's often difficult to convince corporate leadership to value more than money, a more plausible solution could be a PlayStation equivalent of Xbox Game Pass. With a steady subscription base, Sony might worry less about the success of individual games, instead letting developers take risks, so long as they add value to the overall package. Such a service is rumored to be in the works, so seeing if the theory pans out may just be a matter of time.

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Source: Bloomberg; Header Image: Wikipedia user Coolcaesar (CC BY-SA 4.0)