I can factually tell you, SIE didn't force anything on ND. ND truly believed they were fully capable of launching and supporting a live-service title all on their own.
To be fair to ND, what we're now seeing happening in the GAAS/live-service economy is something no one could've predicted really back when they first endeavored into this project (2018/2019). The bar to enter the field is simply far too high, with the resources required, both in terms of manpower and in terms of money, far too steep. When ND set about this, it felt like easy money. The game is also a year late (Covid), which didn't help that those problems grow way worse during that time frame.