PlayStation execs’ focus on monetization left me depressed
A summary of Sony’s Game & Network Services Q&A, shared by analyst Mat Piscatella, shows executives prioritizing customer lifetime value and recurring revenue over growing monthly active users — a stance that left the author dismayed.
Analyst Mat Piscatella shared on Bluesky a written summary of Sony’s Game & Network Services Segment Small Meeting Q&A. Answers came from SIE CEO Hideaki Nishino, Studio business CEO Hermen Hulst, and SIE SVP Lynn Azar. The meeting, held on Friday, June 5, came a month after Sony said it was pulling back from releasing major single-player games on PC and weeks before the turmoil around Destiny 2’s sunsetting at Bungie.
As a regular gamer, the vision laid out didn’t inspire confidence. Asked how PlayStation will grow Monthly Active Users by 2027, execs emphasized maximizing profit per customer via “Customer Lifetime Value.” They noted “there are multiple ways to achieve that via recurring revenue such as add-on content revenue,” and said they are “focusing more on monetizing our user base, which is well reflected in the strong FY2025 financial results.” I love being monetized.
