Sega President and COO Shuji Utsumi recently explained in an interview with Nikkei why the company halted its "Super Game" project—stating that it required "extremely large-scale growth to match the service volume," making it "too risky" at the current stage.
The "Super Game" project was announced in 2021, described at the time as an "online AAA global hit" that would "go beyond the framework of traditional games." Sega had stated it might invest nearly $1 billion in internal development and acquisitions to achieve this goal. However, earlier this year, the project was officially canceled as part of a strategic adjustment.
In an interview, Uchida admitted, "As our analysis deepened, we realized that to match the scale of the service, both investment and operational scale would need to expand significantly, with challenges gradually becoming apparent. After considering the global situation, we determined that taking on this challenge at this stage carried too high a risk, so we decided to halt development."
However, he emphasized that the company has not abandoned its exploration of the live-service game sector: "In the gaming industry, live-service games are an area we cannot ignore. If we can successfully promote a newly created IP on a large scale globally, the returns will be substantial. I still believe there are business opportunities here, and we will continue to pursue this business."
Uchida also pointed out that Sega already has a practical presence in the live-service game sector, including Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, SEGA NEW CREATION CLUB 2026, and Creative Assembly's Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000. The latter is set to enter closed beta this year and is expected to continuously expand its game world post-launch, fitting the typical live-service model.
It is worth noting that Sega is no stranger to lessons learned in live-service games. Hyenas, developed by Creative Assembly, was seen as a significant attempt but was canceled in 2023 due to "structural reforms" and a "rapidly changing business environment."