Sony first party IP: The Future is BRIGHT

When it comes to the world of gaming, there has been so much dooming of late across all of the big 3 brands. “Sony has no first party games.” “Xbox is going third party and getting out of hardware.” “Nintendo is having a down year waiting for Switch 2.”

And while I don’t think these broad stroke, anxiety-driven generalizations have a ton of merit, there are undeniably legitimate heartbreakers in the news roundup each and every week with unprecedented levels of global layoffs and studio closures plaguing the industry as a whole.

But today I want to focus on something a little different because I genuinely think there are some things to be hopeful about, and in this article I want to home in on one of those big topics: Sony’s first party IP.

It’s no secret that Sony doesn’t have one of their “core” first party IP primed for a major new release in 2024. And by “core,” I mean their established IP that fit into the AAA, blockbuster, single player action adventure games that came to define the PlayStation identity especially during the PS4 generation. Falling into this category are games like God of War, The Last of Us, and Horizon.

We know that Sony’s first party studios do have some games deep in the pipeline – like Wolverine or the inevitable Ghost of Tsushima 2 – but the company stated that we shouldn’t expect any games of that caliber to release in the current fiscal year (aka before April 2025). And we also know that some of Sony’s studios – *cough* Naughty Dog – have faced some setbacks like with the cancellation of the multiplayer Last of Us game.

And while those tentpole, blockbuster IP are extremely important to the PlayStation brand and the value prop of why players should buy into the Sony system of consoles, those aren’t the only style of games primed to pump life into the PlayStation library.

First off, just to get this out of the way: while Sony has said that we shouldn’t expect any new major first party IP releases, that doesn’t mean 2024 has no console exclusives. While it’s become increasingly popular to hate on third party console exclusivity deals, you can’t deny the fact that Sony has curated a number of quality experiences for their console lineup.

So far in 2024, FFVII Rebirth, Stellar Blade, and even Rise of the Ronin have been met with a mix of critical and commercial success. So while none of those titles are Sony-made, they are Sony-exclusive and Sony will continue to help fund and publish tons of experiences for their consoles, from AAA to indies and partner programs like the China Hero Project. And anyone who says Sony has no exclusives this year just isn’t doing their homework.

Not to mention, Helldivers 2 is a Sony-owned IP and while the company may not consider it a “major” franchise the same way they would Uncharted for example, it has been an undeniable smash hit and will be in the industry-wide conversation for game of the year.

That aside, the main thing I want to focus on here is that even though 2024 isn’t slated to have a “major” new first party IP release from Sony, we’re still getting some exciting games coming from Sony IP in the coming months. These games may not be 40+ hour, AAA action-adventures, but they’re still primed to inject some much-needed hype into the ecosystem and its fanbase.

The two big pachyderms in the room are, of course, Astro Bot and Lego Horizon Adventures.

These games were both announced recently – as part of a State of Play and Summer Game Fest respectively – and are much-needed reminders that PlayStation has a history of amazing first party games that aren’t just the AAA, high action adventures.

I would even go so far as to say that these 2 games are positioned to do some things that your mainline GoW or TLOU entries can’t do.

First of all, Astro Bot and Lego games are inherently family friendly. You can play them, your kids can play them, your significant other who isn’t as much of a gamer can play them – they’re the kind of games that are highly accessible regardless of age or skill level and are open to co-op, especially playing together on the couch.

These kinds of games with the potential for broad appeal and accessibility naturally open themselves up to larger audiences, including some important demographics that Sony’s grittier, high octane action adventures may be missing out on. Most notably: kids.

By appealing to kids with their first party IP, Sony can start to foster the next generation of gamers who will grow up loving PlayStation and have nostalgia for their IP. Astro is doubly primed to do this since while he exists as his own brand, he’s also easily adaptable for tugging on those emotional attachments to other Sony characters via cameos. These cameos span literal generations of characters – from Parappa the Rapper and Kratos to Aloy and Ratchet – appealing to hype and nostalgia for all sorts of gamers.

What’s more, if your kids can get excited to engage with Sony IP, it helps PlayStation get back to tapping into some of that Nintendo-esc magic. Gamers with families can justify picking up a PS5 since it won’t just serve their entertainment needs, but the whole household’s.

Then, on top of breaking down the barrier to purchase and fostering new generations of gamers who’ll have ties to the PlayStation brand, games like Astro Bot and Lego Horizon serve yet another essential function: re-introducing some first party genre diversity that sparked, flashed, and faded after the PS5’s initial launch.

At the start of the generation, we had Sackboy: A Big Adventure and even Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, but we haven’t had a consistent focus from Sony’s first party on these types of games. As I mentioned at the start of this article, we really saw a turn towards the AAA action-adventure games like Uncharted, TLOU, GoW, Horizon, Spider-Man, and Ghost of Tsushima, etc. as the most hyped-up titles coming from Sony’s first party studios during the PS4 generation.

The great thing about that is that those games have clearly resonated with Sony’s “core gamer” audience who consistently show up for the big blockbuster exclusives, and they’ve helped to push the medium forward by delivering extremely creative, high quality, unforgettable experiences.

But a strategy that relies so heavily on these types of games comes with its drawbacks. These games are increasingly expensive to create, with longer and longer development cycles required to deliver the level of quality that gamers have come to expect.

And if it takes more time and resources to create the next Ghost of Tsushima or God of War, it’s inevitably going to lead to gaps in your release calendar (like we’re seeing in 2024) while also increasing the strain on your bottom line because you’re spending more money while releasing fewer games. You also risk losing the confidence of your most dedicated consumer base when you have a “slow year” without one of your tentpole IP dropping a new mainline entry (I’m looking at you, capital G Gamers).

But if you strive to maintain a more diverse portfolio of games around your IP, you position yourself for more resilience. Smaller projects (like an Astro Bot) with potentially more reasonable budgets and less inflated development cycles can help shore up your release cadence. And ongoing multiplayer games (like a Helldivers 2) can help create consistent re-engagement opportunities with your audience.

And while not every one of these games can land with a major splash and exceed ROI expectations, having a more diverse portfolio of first party experiences helps you grow your audience by appealing to a wider array of gaming preferences. Platformers, co-op games, sprawling single player adventures – you can have a little something for everyone.

Also, the stronger your stable of IP, the stronger the potential is for successful spin-offs and collaborations. Enter: Lego Horizon Adventures. Horizon has clearly been marked as one of the next major pillars of the PlayStation brand, but how do you grow the Horizon identity in the long wait between new mainline entries and also tap into potentially new audiences who’ve yet to engage with Aloy’s adventures?

A spin-off like a new Lego game is a fantastic vector for this. It serves a number of purposes: it keeps the Horizon brand in a healthy release cadence. It minimizes the fatigue that comes with releasing the same style of game over and over again (especially for a big, open world game that some people already find too repetitive to complete as it is). It lets you market to new audiences who are younger or familiar with the Lego brand but are new to Horizon. It gives you the opportunity to partner with other development studios, potentially alleviating some of the burden on your in-house teams while still keeping up their output.

I could probably keep going but I think you get the point – smart, creative spin-offs and collaborations like Lego Horizon Adventures help Sony make the most of their IP by injecting them with new life and exposing them to new audiences, all good things for a healthy console ecosystem.

And speaking of spin-offs and new audiences, there’s something I’ve yet to mention: the non-gaming potential of Sony’s IP a la TV and film adaptations.

(Well, there’s two somethings – the other being the whole Lego Horizon Switch release of it all, but that is probably a conversation deserving of its own article someday so for now, let’s stick with the TV thing and I’ll just say this: one spin-off going multi-platform does not portend the end of console exclusives...)

Moving on: as we’ve seen with recent examples like HBO’s The Last of Us or – to take a break from Sony for a moment – Amazon’s Fallout – quality video game adaptations can reach massive audiences. These shows can re-capture the hype and enthusiasm of existing (or even lapsed) fans as well as create wholly new fans who’ve never played one of the games before. This can then translate into renewed sales momentum – even if there isn’t a shiny brand-new release (just look at what happened with all the Fallout games this year).

But one thing I’ll say here to Sony (who is totally reading and absorbing every single word of this no-name article, I’m sure): not every blockbuster IP in your portfolio needs to go the live action route. I personally would kill for an animated Horizon (and the Lego game isn’t helping me ignore this craving… like at all. But I guess I’ll settle for the upcoming live action, at least for now).

Netflix in particular has featured some rock-solid animated adaptions. Arcane and Castlevania are here to say, “Hi. Hello. We bang.” (No offense to TLOU or Fallout, you also bang, but I’m making a point here. Animation is cool and I will die on this hill if need be.)

I could be here all day talking about the exciting opportunities that Sony is creating with their IP, but I think I’ve gone on long enough as it is. My point is well made by now that Sony seems like they’re heading towards making more diverse, creative use of their IP across different genres and mediums, set to engage new and existing audiences alike.

I can understand the gamer anxiety in a year without the AAA singleplayer headliner that Sony has become known for. But don’t call this a nothing-year for the platform. You’ve got Helldivers 2 smashing expectations in the face. And even if Concord isn’t what the core PlayStation fanbase was hoping for right now, you still have Astro Bot. Plus you shouldn’t sleep on third-party exclusives like FFVII and Stellar Blade, with more still to come.

Sure, Sony has made some major stumbles this year too (like parts of their PC strategy with the whole PSN requirements…), but on the whole I still think the future is bright. Clearly the brand has some exciting things coming, aiming to reach new and bigger audiences.

So I’ll wrap this up here – I think I’ve achieved my goal of talking through why I’m excited with what we’re seeing Sony do with their IP to support the beautifully chonky box that is the PS5. 2024 may not have seemed the most exciting at its outset for the platform, but as it stands now, I think PlayStation is primed for growth in 2025 and beyond.

Hopefully a year from now this article will have aged exceedingly well but if not, I’ll eat my words and until then, dear gamers, remember that we play games because they’re fun, and we should support the community of players and developers alike that is always growing around them.