Saros Has Me Worried About Future PlayStation Games

As the PlayStation 5 slowly runs out of steam and slowly creeps up to its deathbed, titles like Saros truly matter. They represent a triumphant swan song for the console and a strong showcase of just how impressive the PS5 was, despite its relative lack of first-party games. Saros, in particular, a masterpiece of a game on practically all accounts, is especially important, as it’s a smaller game with a significantly lower budget than, say, Marvel’s Wolverine, and thus illustrative of the diverse experiences Sony is still trying to offer, despite the turbulent times the industry finds itself trapped within.

With many regarding Saros as PlayStation’s first 2026 GOTY contender, one would assume that its success would be a forgone conclusion. However, that doesn’t seem to be entirely the case, as reports have emerged that suggest Saros isn’t performing as well commercially as some may have expected. While not entirely doom and gloom just yet, it does have me somewhat concerned about the future of PlayStation’s first-party lineup, especially in the midst of high-profile cancellations, studio closures, and the death of its disastrous live service push.

Saros Isn’t A Commercial Success, At Least Yet

I want to preface this discussion by making it abundantly clear that I neither believe Saros to be a bad game nor do I believe that the currently available information is indicative of a total commercial failure. While Saros’ sales numbers are certainly looking a tad dour from the outset, there’s every possibility that they could bounce back; thus, for now, they should not be referred to as a failure by any metric. That being said, Saros has seemingly underperformed, or is at least not having quite the uptick in sales that perhaps some of us, Returnal fans especially, were expecting.

In April, Saros ranked just 11th in North America and 17th in Europe on the PlayStation Store charts, according to the official PS Blog. It is true that the game officially launched on April 30, but it had a 48-hour early access period, meaning downloads began on April 27. Additionally, Saros placed third in the UK’s physical game chart behind Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, which released on April 16, and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, a game that has been out for several years. Again, this is no great indication of an enormous failure, but it doesn’t bode well. For context, according to the PS Blog, back in 2021, Returnal was third in the US PS Store charts and 4 in the UK charts. It was also released on April 30.

The lack of downloads could have occurred for any number of reasons, ranging from a decreased interest in pre-order Early Access periods for AAA games, the competition from titles like Pragmata, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, and Diablo IV’s expansion, or simply poor marketing from Sony. It is possible that May’s PS Store charts will paint a brighter picture, with Saros soaring to unprecedented heights. However, considering that first-party games like Saros, especially single-player releases, tend to sell better closer to their release date than later on, it seems unlikely that the sales numbers will shift dramatically. Naturally, this all has me a little concerned, as while Saros’ alleged $70 million budget is a drop in the ocean compared to Marvel’s Wolverine or Concord’s several hundred million dollar development costs, its potential disappointing commercial results could lead to a decrease in investment in similar titles going forward.

PlayStation Needs More Games Like Saros

As alluded to, the gaming industry is undergoing a rapid transformation that is proving costly both financially and emotionally. PlayStation has shuttered numerous high-profile studios as a result of both the rising development costs of AAA games and the false sense of security the unprecedented levels of revenue and employment the pandemic brought in. Any form of risk or failure can lead to drastic consequences, which, naturally, leads to developers opting to play it completely safe, at least within AAA circles. Should Saros fail, which, again, I’m not saying it has yet, then it could be seen as having been a risk not worth taking, and reduce Sony’s desire to publish and fund another such first-party title.

However, should that be the case, we would miss out on not just fun games, but varied and interesting ones. We already know PlayStation canceled numerous games well into production because there was a risk of failure, so it wouldn’t be completely surprising to see it reevaluate the value a studio like Housemarque brings to the table. Again, that would be the worst possible outcome and something I hope is completely avoidable, as without developers like Housemarque, the video game industry becomes a lot less interesting and, consequently, a lot less sustainable.

Smaller, experimental titles don’t merely exist to cater to a specific fandom and justify video games as an art form. They supplement the large titles, bring in entirely different crowds of gamers, ensure the medium remains varied and never grows stale, and remind players why they love the hobby in the first place. Even if these do not sell as well as their blockbuster counterparts, their existence, at least in my opinion, helps to bolster and even elevate them, at times. Furthermore, developers can experiment with mechanics and gameplay ideas in riskier, smaller-budget titles with fewer expectations placed upon them by shareholders. It is this experimentation that leads to AAA games feeling innovative, as they can simply borrow the same ideas and pour more money into them.

Of course, we won’t know for a little while whether Saros proves to be a big enough success to keep Housemarque from being shut down, and sustain PlayStation’s interest in supporting AA and smaller-budget games. I certainly hope that’s how this whole affair transpires, as it would be not just an enormous shame, but a deadly blow to the industry as a whole. We’re already seeing the death of the AA developer with the closures of studios like Spiders and Piranha Bytes, and no one is coming to take their place. Should Housemarque fall, I wonder whether Sony will feel like opening its coffers to a new studio, or if it’ll eventually run out of dominoes to topple, and be left without its once critically acclaimed suite of profoundly talented developers.

Do you think PlayStation needs more games like Saros in the future? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

The Best PlayStation Game From Every Console Generation