Bend Studio Dev Says 'We Still Plan on Creating Cool S**t' After Sony Live Service Cancelation

Bend Studio, the developer behind Days Gone, remains committed to creating exciting new projects, despite Sony's cancellation of their unannounced live-service game. This follows Sony's recent decision to scrap two unannounced live-service titles, one reportedly a God of War game from Bluepoint Games, and another from Bend Studio, whose specifics remain undisclosed. While Sony confirmed the cancellations, assuring that neither studio would be closed and future projects are being planned, the company's foray into live-service gaming has faced significant challenges.

Sony's live-service endeavors have yielded mixed results. The resounding success of Arrowhead's Helldivers 2, achieving record-breaking sales, stands in stark contrast to the failures of other projects. The abrupt shutdown of Concord, a major setback for Sony, highlights the risks involved. This follows the earlier cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer game. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida even voiced his reservations about Sony's aggressive push into live-service gaming.

Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, reassured fans in a tweet, stating their intention to continue developing "cool stuff." Their last release was Days Gone in 2019, subsequently ported to PC in 2021.

Sony's financial call revealed that lessons were learned from both the triumph of Helldivers 2 and the failure of Concord. Sony's president, Hiroki Totoki, attributed Concord's downfall to several factors, including delayed user testing and internal evaluations, a siloed organizational structure, and an unfortunate release window coinciding with Black Myth: Wukong. Senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa emphasized the importance of sharing these lessons learned across all studios, focusing on improved development management and post-launch content updates. Sony's future strategy involves a balanced approach, combining its strengths in single-player titles with carefully managed live-service projects.

Despite these setbacks, several PlayStation live-service games are still under development, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$.