“They’re not really games.” In a blunt critique, former PlayStation chief Shawn Layden slams the industry’s fixation on chasing games-as-a-service. He argues that GaaS is an “engagement device built on repetitive actions,” while a real game demands three pillars: “a story, a character, and a world.” That’s why he points to Horizon, God of War, and Uncharted as the standard-bearers for what players truly value.

Speaking with The Ringer, Layden didn’t mince words: “To me, a game as a service isn’t really a game.” He describes the model as one that optimizes repetition and stickiness over authored experiences, insisting that the medium’s core rests on story, character, and world. As examples, he name-checks three PlayStation flagships: “Horizon, God of War, and Uncharted.”

For teams building GaaS, he says the recipe tends to be “repetitive action most people can grasp, the ability to communicate in that world with like-minded people, and the desire for the player to do it again and again and again.” Layden concedes GaaS “isn’t my specialty,” adding that Sony’s insistence on pursuing that crowded, competitive arena was one reason he left the company’s leadership.

“A Mirage on Top of a Dune” — Why the Clones Keep Missing

Chasing the live-service jackpot often feels like, as Layden puts it, “a mirage on top of a dune — you chase it, but it never quite arrives.” And if it does, “no one wants to play what you’re bringing to the party,” which is why he views many attempts as “Fortnite clones” or “people trying to make Overwatch with other skins.”

His warning to executives is equally stark: “If you’re trying to get into that space because you have this illusion in your head that you’re going to get sacks of money coming to you every day for the rest of your life, for most people that doesn’t happen.” In his view, the market is saturated, and players still gravitate toward crafted worlds and narratives — the very things that make games feel like games.

Source: 3DJuegos