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. While neither studio will be closed, Sony will collaborate with them to define future endeavors.

Sony's foray into live-service gaming has been a mixed bag. The resounding success of Helldivers 2, a PlayStation Studios record-breaker with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks, contrasts sharply with the failures of other ventures. The abrupt shutdown of Concord, a significant PlayStation setback, highlighted the challenges of the live-service model. This followed the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project, prompting former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida to express his reservations about Sony's aggressive push into this area.

Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, reassured fans with a concise message: "Thanks for the love and support everyone, especially to those that have reached out. P.S. We still plan on creating cool shit." Their last release was Days Gone in 2019 (PlayStation 4), later ported to PC in 2021.

Sony's financial reports reveal a post-mortem analysis of both Helldivers 2's triumph and Concord's failure. Hiroki Totoki, Sony's president, COO, and CFO, attributed Concord's downfall to several factors, including delayed user testing and internal evaluation, a siloed organizational structure hindering collaboration, and an unfortunate release window coinciding with Black Myth: Wukong's launch. He emphasized the need for earlier quality control checkpoints and improved inter-departmental communication.

Sadahiko Hayakawa, Sony's senior vice president for finance and IR, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the valuable lessons learned from both successes and failures. Sony plans to leverage these insights to refine its live-service development strategy, balancing risk with the proven success of its single-player titles.

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