What future does Days Gone's Bend Studio have after Sony Interactive Entertainment management canceled the next game? A member of the team followed up with messages of support.
The complete failure of Concord would have almost completely thrown PlayStation's games-as-a-service strategy into question. While Bungie's Marathon, Fairgame$ from Jade Raymond's new studio (Assassin's Creed) and Horizon multiplayer are still in development, Sony Interactive Entertainment management has abruptly ended two games that have been in the works for several years. And one of them should be the next production from Bend Studio, developers of Days Gone, Siphon Filter and Uncharted Golden Abyss. After the cancellation of its new game, the studio speaks out.
Another PS5 service game has fallen in battle
After years of speculation, we learned that Bluepoint Games (Demon's Souls), which was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2021, was involved in a now-defunct God of War service game. The next title from Bend Studio, the fathers of Days Gone, should also strengthen the manufacturer's GaaS strategy. However, after a reevaluation, this unannounced software was also declared invalid by the Japanese company, indicating that there would be no studio closures following this new decision. « Bend and Bluepoint are very talented teams that are valuable members of the PlayStation Studios family. And we work closely with each studio to determine next projects » a Sony spokesperson said in a message obtained by Bloomberg.
Journalist Jeff Grubb stated that the developers only found out about this decision at the same time as everyone else. A claim that was disputed by Jason Schreier, causing Grubb to reconsider his comments. “It was a mistake on my part. My source wanted to say that they only found out recently and therefore didn't have time to prepare for the sequel. When I tried to remember it, I was confused. I apologize”. Presumably the developers of Days Gone were warned late, but not at the same time as everyone else.
The Days Gone studio is starting from scratch, see you on PS6
After all this and the very bad news of the cancellation, players sent messages to the developers of Days Gone to give them strength. Support that has not gone unnoticed. « I'll keep it short. Thank you for all the love and support, especially everyone who reached out to me. PS: We always plan to create cool stuff » said community manager Kevin McAllister.
According to a leak, the service game in question could have been a military TPS like Siphon Filter, the studio's flagship series. What's next? Teams now have to start from scratch and therefore, given the development time required these days, their next game could be on PS6. Maybe it will be a cross-generation title, but it's unlikely it will be a PS5 exclusive. As for the hypothesis of seeing Days Gone 2, the chances are slim since the idea has already been rejected.
Source: Kevin McAllister on X.
