Bend Studios may have suffered a major setback, but the lead developer still seems optimistic about the future.
We’re still working on cool shit.
Community manager Kevin McAllister obviously hasn’t given up hope for his development team at Bend Studio. However, the last week has certainly not been an easy one for him and his colleagues.
Sony has canceled two game projects: a multiplayer game in the God of War universe and an as-yet-unknown live service title from Bend Studio.
The good news is that no one is being laid off and no studio has to close. McAllister thanked everyone for the support he and his team have received during this difficult time.
I’ll keep this short.
Thanks for the love and support everyone, especially to those that have reached out. ❤️
P.S. We still plan on creating cool shit.
— Kevin McAllister (@vikingdad278) January 17, 2025
Not all studios whose entire project is scrapped will get off that lightly – Sony has also been involved in the wave of layoffs in the gaming industry in recent months.
Sony is also having difficulties gaining a foothold in long-running multiplayer titles. The development of The Last of Us Online was also canceled, and Concord was taken off the market within a few weeks last year and the Destiny spin-off Payback will probably never see the light of day.
It’s quite possible that Sony will now focus on what it does best: single-player games. So Bend Studio will probably now work on the successor to Days Gone.
The two former game directors Jeff Ross and John Garvin left the team after the zombie adventure. Allegedly due to creative differences with the studio bosses, which arose from different ideas about the sequel. Now the time for a real sequel could possibly have come.
No matter what you think about GAAS or Sony’s first party direction, this is a time for empathy… people’s lives are affected by decisions like this … devs, their families, their careers… I hope for the best pic.twitter.com/Xmpov5eADX
— John Garvin (@John_Garvin) January 17, 2025
Regardless of what you think of GAAS [editor’s note: Games as a Service] or Sony’s first-party direction, this is a time for empathy… people’s lives are affected by decisions like this… developers, their families, their careers… I hope for the best.
But even if Bend Studio were to start working on Days Gone 2 now, it will of course still be a few years before we see anything of it. On the other hand, we won’t have to wait long for another sequel to a fantastic Sony single-player game: Ghost of Yotei will be released this year.
