Bend Studio Vows to Create 'Cool Stuff' Despite Sony's Live Service Cancellation

The developer behind Days Gone, Bend Studio, remains committed to creating exciting new content despite Sony's recent cancellation of their unannounced live-service game. Last week, Sony pulled the plug on two unannounced live-service projects, one from Bend Studio and another from Bluepoint Games. While Bluepoint was reportedly working on a live-service God of War game, as noted by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, the specifics of Bend Studio's project remain undisclosed. A Sony spokesperson confirmed these cancellations to Bloomberg, reassuring that neither studio would be shut down and that Sony would collaborate with them to define their next ventures.

Sony's ambitious push into live-service gaming has faced significant hurdles. While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 soared to become the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks, other live-service attempts have either been canceled or launched disastrously. Concord, for instance, stands out as one of the biggest flops in PlayStation's history, lasting merely a couple of weeks before being taken offline due to low player engagement. This led to the complete termination of the game and the closure of its developer. The failure of Concord followed the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project. Reflecting on these events, former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida expressed that he would have resisted Sony's live-service push if he were in the position of current Sony Interactive Entertainment Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst.

In the midst of these challenges, Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, took to Twitter to reassure fans: “Thanks for the love and support everyone, especially to those that have reached out. P.S. We still plan on creating cool shit.” This message underscores the studio's determination to continue innovating, despite setbacks. Bend Studio's most recent release was Days Gone in 2019 for PlayStation 4, which later came to PC in 2021.

During a recent financial call, Sony president, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki discussed the lessons learned from the contrasting fortunes of Helldivers 2 and Concord. Totoki admitted that Sony should have implemented development checkpoints, such as user testing and internal evaluations, much earlier in the development cycle of Concord. He suggested that earlier intervention could have either improved the game before its release or led to its timely cancellation.

Totoki also criticized Sony's "siloed organization" and the unfortunate release window of Concord, which overlapped with the successful launch of Black Myth: Wukong on PS5 and PC. He emphasized the need for better inter-departmental collaboration and more strategic release timing to avoid cannibalization and maximize performance.

Sony senior vice president for finance and IR, Sadahiko Hayakawa, echoed these sentiments, comparing the launches of Helldivers 2 and Concord. He stated that Sony intends to share the lessons learned from these experiences across its studios, enhancing development management and content expansion strategies post-launch. Hayakawa also outlined Sony's future strategy to balance its portfolio with both single-player games, leveraging proven IPs for predictable success, and live-service games that offer potential for growth despite inherent risks.

Looking ahead, several PlayStation live-service titles are still in development, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$. These projects reflect Sony's ongoing commitment to exploring the live-service model, albeit with a more cautious and informed approach.