Sony may abandon Western studios if "Ghost of Mount Yotei" and "Star: Heretic Prophet" fail

2025-10-17 22:13:16|Myriagame |source：minecraft skins

A source close to Sony revealed to foreign media That Park Place that internal discussions in Japan indicate that PlayStation’s exclusive game lineup may be about to undergo a major strategic adjustment.According to this source, both Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yotei and Naughty Dog's Star Wars: Heretic Prophet are seen as the "last chance" for Western developers to get big exclusives under Sony's current leadership.

"Another rumor I've heard is that Star Wars: Heretic Prophet and Ghost of Yotei are the last chances for these Western studios. If they fail, Sony will turn fully to Japanese developers and put the focus back on traditional stories and characters. China's victories in the game market - such as Genshin Impact, Black Myth: Wukong, and Screaming Tides - are cited internally as reasons for the change of direction," the source said.

While That Park Place couldn't independently verify these internal discussions, the claims are consistent with growing speculation in the industry that Sony Japan is regaining control of PlayStation's long-term creative strategy and countering the high costs and diminished appeal of Western studios.

Media Narrative vs Internal Reality

Recently, many mainstream game media have called "The Soul of Mount Yotei" an "instant success story", claiming that the game sold 1.3 million copies within 24 hours of release.

However, this figure only comes from a self-proclaimed "whistleblower" Twitter account with about 9,100 followers, and there is no official confirmation from Sony or Sucker Punch.Despite this, the figure was reported as fact and included in headlines by many media outlets.

Meanwhile, insiders at That Park Place paint a very different picture of the situation behind the scenes.According to people familiar with the matter, early sales of "Ghost of Yotei Mountain" were lower than expected, so Sony Japan has slowed down advertising investment and reduced its marketing budget.

The source said this was a "cost control measure" and that Sony executives "didn't want to continue losing money on a game with diminishing returns."

Public data seems to confirm this: "Soul of Mount Yotei" advertising has decreased significantly, PlayStation's social media dynamics have become deserted, and the number of viewers of the game on Twitch has dropped sharply since its release.

The gap between the "success narrative" promoted by the media and the "reality" within the company shows that the performance of the game may be far less than what the outside world thinks.

Sony faces trouble with Western studios

Over the past few years, several of Sony's Western studios—Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, Bend Studio, and Guerrilla—have suffered from long development cycles, bloated budgets, and polarized player response.

Although "The Last of Us 2" is technically excellent, it is still highly controversial; the commercial performance of "Horizon: West" is not as good as expected; now, "Ghost of Mount Yotei" has experienced issues such as unstable topic popularity, doubts about sales, and controversy caused by offensive remarks made by former employees of the developer on social media.

To make matters worse, other Western studios such as Santa Monica ("God of War: Ragnarok") and Insomniac Games ("Marvel's Spider-Man 2") also had their reputations damaged by working with a narrative consulting company called Sweet Baby Inc.Fans accused the company of alienating the player base by forcing an "ideology-first" narrative into the game.

At the same time, some smaller Japanese and Asian studios have created international blockbuster hits at lower costs - such as China's MiHoYo "Genshin Impact", Game Science's "Black Myth: Wukong", Clow Game "Crying Tide", etc. These works are dominating global charts and player attention.

If Sony executives truly believe that China and Japan are shaping the next era of the gaming industry, then this rumored strategic shift may mean that PlayStation will return to its cultural roots - regaining traditional heroic narratives, character-driven stories, and reducing its reliance on politicized narratives.

A sign of a strategic reset?

Industry observers have noticed some subtle signs of shifting priorities.For example:

In PlayStation’s recent State of Play conferences, the proportion of Japanese games and anime-style visual content has increased significantly.

Sony has quietly increased investment in collaboration with Japanese partners (such as Koei Tecmo and SE).

During the internal personnel adjustment, some former Japan Studio members returned to serve as consultants.

If the rumors are true, this means that PlayStation is interested in rebalancing its creative landscape, away from expensive and ideologically controversial Western film projects, and back to Japanese high-impact game design with global appeal and more controllable costs.

Treat with caution: rumors are still brewing

Sony has yet to issue any confirmation or denial statement regarding this rumor.Although That Park Place’s previous sources were relatively reliable in some industry revelations, these contents are still unconfirmed rumors.

Even so, existing signs—a reduction in advertising for Ghost of Yotei, declining player engagement, and Sony’s increased emphasis on the Asian market—point to the PlayStation brand possibly being at a critical turning point.

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