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 games despite Sony's cancellation of its 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, reassuring fans that neither studio would be closed and future projects are being planned, the move highlights the challenges Sony has faced in the live-service market.

Sony's foray into live-service gaming has yielded mixed results. While Helldivers 2, developed by Arrowhead, achieved phenomenal success, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other ventures, like Concord, have faltered dramatically. Concord's swift shutdown after a short, unsuccessful run, coupled with the earlier cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project, underscores the risks involved. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida even voiced his reservations about Sony's aggressive push into the live-service sector.

Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, offered a reassuring message to fans, stating their continued dedication to developing "cool shit." Their last release, Days Gone, launched in 2019 for PlayStation 4 and later on PC in 2021.

Sony's financial reports shed light on the company's post-mortem analysis of both Helldivers 2's success 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 evaluations, a siloed organizational structure hindering cross-departmental collaboration, and an unfortunate release window coinciding with Black Myth: Wukong's launch. Sadahiko Hayakawa, Sony's senior vice president for finance and IR, emphasized the lessons learned from both successes and failures, promising to share this knowledge across its studios to improve future live-service game development and management.

Despite these setbacks, Sony continues to invest in live-service titles, with several projects currently underway, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$.