Sony says single-player games are thriving per internal docs, PS5 designed to support this audience

Marvels Spider Man Miles Morales Venom Blast
Marvels Spider Man Miles Morales Venom Blast (Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

What you need to know

  • According to a report from Vice, internal documents at Sony show single-player games are thriving.
  • These documents also report that PlayStation users spend more time playing games offline than online.
  • The PS5's UI with Activities was build with this information in mind.

Single-player games are the backbone of titles developed and published by Sony Worldwide Studios, or the branded PlayStation Studios, something that doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. In a report from Vice, internal documents at Sony say that "single player is thriving" with the added information that PlayStation users are playing more games offline rather than online.

These documents further detail that Sony has taken common complaints about single-player games, such as not knowing the length of an upcoming mission or what to do, and used this feedback in building Activities for the PS5. Activities are not universal and can be implemented in completely different ways, such as how Astro's Playroom allows players to instantly jump into a particular level.

The PS5 launched with massive single-player games such as Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon's Souls. Meanwhile, looking ahead to 2021, more big single-player games are on the way such as Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West and the next God of War title. It'll be interesting to see what other games are announced even as Sony continues "crucial" support for the PS4 through 2022.

Samuel Tolbert

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on PlayStation on Android Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert