Bend Studio Committed to Innovative Game Creation

Bend Studio, the developer behind Days Gone, remains committed to creating innovative and exciting games despite Sony's cancellation of their unannounced live-service title. This follows Sony's recent decision to scrap two unannounced live-service projects, one from Bend Studio and another from Bluepoint Games (reportedly a God of War live-service game). While Sony confirmed the cancellations, assuring that neither studio would be closed and future projects are being planned, the move highlights the company's struggles in the live-service market.

Sony's foray into live-service gaming has been a mixed bag. The resounding success of Arrowhead's Helldivers 2, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks, stands in stark contrast to the failures of other ventures. The notable flop of Concord, a PlayStation live-service game quickly shut down due to low player numbers, serves as a stark reminder of the risks involved. This follows the earlier cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida even commented that he would have resisted Sony's aggressive push into live-service games.

Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, reassured fans via Twitter, stating their continued dedication to developing "cool shit." Their last release, Days Gone (2019), was a PlayStation 4 exclusive that later launched on PC.

Sony's financial call shed light on the lessons learned from both the success of Helldivers 2 and the failure of Concord. Hiroki Totoki, Sony's president, COO, and CFO, emphasized 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, potentially leading to market cannibalization, as contributing factors to its failure. Sadahiko Hayakawa, Sony's senior vice president for finance and IR, further highlighted the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord, emphasizing the importance of sharing lessons learned across studios. Sony plans to balance its portfolio with single-player titles, leveraging established IPs, alongside live-service games, acknowledging the inherent risks.

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$.