Future Bend Studio Projects to Excite Fans

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. While Bend Studio's canceled project remains undisclosed, Sony has confirmed the cancellations and reassured fans that neither studio will be shut down.

Sony's foray into live-service gaming has been a mixed bag. While Helldivers 2 achieved phenomenal success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks, other ventures like Concord have faltered dramatically, resulting in its swift closure and the dissolution of its development team. This follows the earlier cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida even voiced his reservations about Sony's aggressive push into the live-service market.

Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, offered a reassuring message to fans, stating their continued dedication to developing "cool stuff." Their last release was Days Gone in 2019 (PlayStation 4), later ported to PC in 2021.

Sony's financial call shed light on the lessons learned from both Helldivers 2's success and Concord's failure. Sony's president, Hiroki Totoki, highlighted the need for earlier user testing and internal evaluations to identify and address potential issues before launch. He also pointed to Sony's "siloed organization" and Concord's unfortunate release window, which coincided with the launch of Black Myth: Wukong, as contributing factors to its failure. Sadahiko Hayakawa, Sony's senior vice president for finance and IR, emphasized the importance of sharing these lessons learned across all studios, aiming for a balanced portfolio of single-player and live-service titles.

Despite these setbacks, several PlayStation live-service games remain in development, including Marathon (Bungie), Horizon Online (Guerrilla), and Fairgame$ (Haven Studio). The future of Sony's live-service strategy remains to be seen, but the company appears committed to learning from past mistakes and refining its approach.