The unexpected resignation of the top executive from his position as head of PlayStation Studios in 2019 long remained a mystery to the gaming community. Now he has officially confirmed that the key factor was the company's strategic shift toward live-service games.

Shawn LaydenImage: reddit.com

In his candid interview, Layden explained that Sony was actively moving toward games-as-a-service, subscription models, and microtransactions. However, as a proponent of traditional narrative-driven projects like God of War, Spider-Man, The Last of Us, Uncharted, and Horizon, he didn't see his place in this new paradigm.

I lacked both the vision and enthusiasm to lead the platform in the era of live-service games. After 32 years of work, I considered this moment optimal for departure.

A similar position is held by Shuhei Yoshida, who previously expressed resistance to the live-service trend. What's particularly interesting is that Sony's current experiments yield mixed results: the cooperative hit Helldivers 2 coexists with the failed PvP shooter Concord. The next test of this strategy will be the release of Marathon by Bungie.

Shuhei YoshidaImage: x.com

Notably, Layden became so beloved by many players that after his departure from the company, they periodically call for his return to his former position to rectify the mistakes made by PlayStation.

Main image: reddit.com

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