Ghost of Yotei: Legends is something many players have been waiting for since the base game dropped last year. Ghost of Tsushima introduced its Legends mode a few months after its release in 2020, and it's still something that attracts a solid number of players. When Legends dropped, I didn't think so Ghost of Tsushima he could have been just as satisfying outside of his story, but I was quickly proven wrong. It kept me and my friends busy for hours during the COVID pandemic, so Ghost of Yotei: Legends is something i expected.
Now that Legends are here, it's a reminder of why this kind of multiplayer works so well. First, it's a free upgrade to the base game. That alone makes it worth at least a try. The main thought that keeps coming to my mind is that this should be the standard for many developers instead of trying to make games with live services. Sony's live streaming plans were really hit or miss Ghost of Yotei: Legends may be the key to making the company more successful with these goals in the future.
How Ghost of Yotei: Legends compares to the Ghost of Tsushima version
Ghost of Yotei: Legends builds on Tsushima's co-op foundation with bigger bosses, sharper classes, and deeper ties to its story.
Trying to chase the dragon in the live service brought a lot of fatigue and premature shutdown
Sony isn't the only company seemingly determined to create a game that could be next Fortnite. The live-service gaming market has been saturated for several years now, but that hasn't stopped the company. Sony may be just one of many entities trying to push a new live-action game into the pop culture spotlight, but the company has faced some of the most notable development issues when it comes to the genre. Whether it's an early shutdown or cancellation before the actual launch, Sony's ambitions for the live service certainly haven't gone as planned.
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Sony's major live games that have either been released, shut down, canceled, or are still in development
- Helldivers 2 (Released)
- Marathon (Released)
- Concord (Released, then shut down)
- Fairgame $ (Still under development)
- Gathering of Horizon Hunters (Still under development)
- God of War spin-off (cancelled)
- An unnamed Bend studio project (cancelled)
- Twisted Metal spin-off (cancelled)
- Spider-Man spin-off (cancelled)
- The last of us online (cancelled)
- Codename Payback (cancelled)
Thus, Sony succeeded with only two of its planned live service titles. Helldivers 2 was one of the best examples of how to do live services, and MarathonThe launch has also been successful so far. Maybe it doesn't work Helldivers 2 launch numbers, but it's certainly more successful than Sony's most famous live service failure. ConcordThe game's demise was one of the biggest gaming stories of 2024 when it was shut down just two weeks after its launch. Aside from Sony, there are plenty of other games with live services that have fallen short of expectations.
Other notable games with Live Service that will either shut down or end support after launch
- Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (Ended support after launch)
- Redfall (Ended support after launch)
- Marvel's Avengers (Ended support after launch)
- Fall of Babylon (turn off)
- Anthem (turn off)
- High Guardian (turn off)
High Guardian the recent shutdown was another unfortunate example of how oversaturated the genre has become. While High Guardian achieved some impressive numbers at launch, it failed to keep players coming back. That's the lifeblood of these games and it's getting harder to maintain that consistency year after year. With games like Overwatch and Fortnite to rule in these spaces requires something truly unique, such as Helldivers 2really stand out.
Why Ghost of Yotei: Legends should be the plan for multiplayer moving forward
To give things back concretely, Sony has built its reputation on fantastic single-player experiences with rich stories. Some of the best Sony games are titles like Uncharted, The last of us, God of War, Horizonand Marvel's Spider-Man. Ghost of Yotei and Ghost of Tsushima are now easily on this list. Legends mode simply allows for multiplayer without the devastating result of shutting down the game. In some of these cases, outages and live cancellations also lead to studio closures. It's really tiring to see disappointing stories like the recent news of Bluepoint Studios closing down. There were several factors that led to the studio's closure, but it's important to note that it was being worked on God of War live-service spin-off. So it's possible that the cancellation of this project helped inform the decision to close Bluepoint Studios.
PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst said in a statement following the closure of Bluepoint Studios that the company had to make difficult decisions as it “operates in an increasingly challenging industry environment”. It's been a really tricky time for the games industry, but that's also why focusing so hard on live services isn't a good idea anymore. It's just too risky and Sony and other big studios will have to turn around.
Multiplayer modes like Ghost of Yotei: Legends can let developers have their cake and eat it too
If most developers only focused on well-made single-player games and treated multiplayer as something extra to enjoy instead of the core experience, the loss wouldn't be so drastic if multiplayer didn't catch on. The last of usThe Factions mode is a great example of this. After so many years, Factions doesn't really have an audience anymore, but anyone can still play The last of us. He didn't lose time just because he couldn't accumulate the expected number of players.
This approach also does not mean that live service features are not impossible. If the game's multiplayer mode turns out to be a hit, then companies like Sony can easily take advantage of that and add new features and battle passes to monetize some aspects. Shutdowns for live games will continue. Unless a studio is lucky, it's just not a sustainable long-term model anymore. Fairgame $ and Gathering of Horizon Hunters they'll be a big show for Sony, simply because they could force the company to rethink how multiplayer is approached. Only time will tell, but the future of multiplayer is hopefully looking a lot more similar Ghost of Yotei: Legends.
- Released
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March 10, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and gore, drug references, intense violence, language, partial nudity, alcohol use
- Publishers
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
