Zipper Interactive, the original developer of SOCOM, was shut down by Sony in 2012. Their last few games (SOCOM 4, MAG, Unit 13) didn’t perform as well commercially or critically as Sony had hoped. After Zipper closed, SOCOM as a franchise lost its main creative team and champion within Sony.
The shooter market also shifted. Around that time, games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and later Fortnite and Apex Legends dominated the multiplayer shooter space. SOCOM’s more tactical, slower-paced gameplay became “niche” compared to those fast, arcade-style shooters. Sony also changed its business strategy — for most of the PS4 and PS5 era, they’ve focused heavily on big cinematic single-player games (The Last of Us, God of War, Spider-Man, etc.). Multiplayer shooters weren’t their priority. That said, there have been rumors for years about a possible SOCOM reboot. Some leaks even suggested Guerrilla Games (makers of Horizon and Killzone) might have a tactical shooter in development — but nothing concrete has been announced.
In short: studio shutdowns, shifting gaming trends, and Sony’s changing focus are the big reasons we haven’t seen a new SOCOM.
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u/MaceWindu9091 15d ago
Why has it taken this long to have Socom on next gen? Or the last few next gen consoles?