Recently, former PlayStation head Shuhei Yoshida revealed in an interview that Santa Monica Studio, Sony's first-party studio that developed the "God of War" series, a new IP project that had invested US$25 million (approximately RMB 177 million) and been developed for many years was eventually cancelled.

According to Shuhei Yoshida’s statement in the “My Perfect Console” podcast, the project is not a series of works in the “God of War” series, but a new IP set in a science fiction background.He commented that its "concept is excellent and contains interesting gameplay ideas", and that Santa Monica Studio has a reputation for artistic expression.However, despite Sony supporting the team's development for "many years," the development team themselves took the initiative to terminate the project after investing up to $25 million.

Shuhei Yoshida explained that the core reason for the project's cancellation was that the team had never been able to "find the core fun of the game.""It was a great concept, a great idea, but the gameplay ended up not living up to expectations," he said, adding that he couldn't remember the specifics but respected the team's decision.

It is worth noting that Shuhei Yoshida served as President of Sony Interactive Entertainment Global Studios from 2008 to 2019 and has led the cancellation of many projects with his rich experience.He usually prefers to make termination decisions early in the project when the investment costs are still low.However, this new IP project from Santa Monica Studio is a special case because it continues to show progress and potential during the development process, resulting in a significant delay in decision-making until the cost is high.Yoshida emphasized that the final decision largely stems from the development team's own judgment.