The developer behind Days Gone, Bend Studio, remains committed to creating innovative content despite the recent cancellation of its unannounced live-service game by parent company Sony. Last week, Sony pulled the plug on two unannounced live-service titles, one from Bend Studio and another from Bluepoint Games, with the latter reportedly working on a live-service God of War game, as per Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. While the nature of Bend Studio's project remains under wraps, a Sony spokesperson confirmed the cancellations to Bloomberg, emphasizing that both studios would continue operations and collaborate on future projects.
Sony's venture into live-service gaming has faced numerous challenges. While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 achieved phenomenal success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other attempts like Concord have been less fortunate. Concord experienced one of the most significant flops in PlayStation's history, surviving only a couple of weeks before being taken offline due to low player engagement. Sony eventually decided to terminate the game and close its developer. This follows the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida expressed that he would have opposed Sony's aggressive push into live-service games if he were in the position of current Sony Interactive Entertainment Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst.
In a message to fans, Bend Studio community manager Kevin McAllister reaffirmed their commitment to innovation, stating, "Thanks for the love and support everyone, especially to those that have reached out. P.S. We still plan on creating cool shit." This comes after their last release, Days Gone, which debuted on PlayStation 4 in 2019 and later on PC in 2021.
During a recent financial call, Sony president, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki reflected on the contrasting fortunes of Helldivers 2 and Concord. He admitted that Sony learned valuable lessons from both, particularly emphasizing the need for earlier development checkpoints, such as user testing and internal evaluations, to address potential issues before launch. Totoki suggested that Sony should have identified and mitigated Concord's problems earlier, potentially improving the game or deciding to cancel it sooner.
Totoki also critiqued Sony's "siloed organization," which he believes hindered smoother development and sales processes across different teams. He highlighted the unfortunate timing of Concord's release, which coincided with the successful launch of Black Myth: Wukong on PS5 and PC, possibly leading to market cannibalization.
Sony senior vice president for finance and IR, Sadahiko Hayakawa, also compared the launches of Helldivers 2 and Concord during the financial call, stressing the importance of sharing the lessons learned across Sony's studios. He outlined plans to enhance development management and post-launch content strategies, aiming to balance a portfolio that includes both single-player games, which leverage Sony's proven IPs, and live-service games that, while riskier, offer significant upside potential.
Looking ahead, Sony continues to develop several live-service titles, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$, as part of its broader strategy in the gaming industry.
