Bend Studio Layoffs Shake Up the Possibility of Days Gone 2

Sony Bend Studio, which is best known for making Days Gone, has gone through a major reorganization after the cancellation of an internal live-service project. This shows how the challenges of making AAA games are changing. According to a story by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, the studio in Oregon has laid off about 40 workers, which accounts for about 30% of its total staff.

This news follows earlier reports that Sony Bend had stopped working on a live-service game. A representative for Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed the decision in a statement to several news sources, including Kotaku. The spokesperson stated that the project had reached the end of its development phase following an internal review.

"Earlier this year, Bend Studio finished working on a live-service idea", a Sony official said. "We decided not to go ahead with it after giving it a lot of thought". As the team moves on to the next project, we've made changes to the studio's long-term strategy that will help it do better in the future. A smaller staff has been cut at the studio as part of this change.

Sony stated that the decision wasn't made without much thought, and they thanked the team members who lost their jobs. "We are very thankful for the important contributions of everyone affected", the statement said. "Bend Studio has been an important part of PlayStation Studios for many years, and we're still full of faith in its creative future."

Although the layoffs are very bad, they are part of a larger trend in the industry where publishers are rethinking large-scale development processes, especially those related to the live-service market, which is becoming saturated. Sony has been putting off or canceling a number of live-service projects across its own studios and third-party partnerships, which suggests that the company is rethinking its approach to these types of projects.

Although no one knows for sure what the canceled game was, it was thought to be a multiplayer game that might have had new content or experimental gameplay. The company became famous with Days Gone in 2019, but they haven't put out a new game since then. Days Gone sold over 8 million copies, including digital copies on PC. However, the game got mixed reviews from critics, and plans for a sequel were eventually shelved.

Many Days Gone fans have never given up hope that there will be a second movie. A lot of people loved the first game because it had a big open world, dynamic horde features, and an emotional story about biker-turned-survivor Deacon St. John. Even though Sony hasn't officially approved a sequel yet, this strong support shows that the IP still has a lot of untapped promise. 

The leaders of Bend Studio, including Creative Director Jeff Ross, have said in the past that they wanted to continue the story; however, it looks like their goals have shifted, and they are now focusing on other projects.

At this point, not much is known about the studio's next project. Sources close to the team indicate that they are in a conceptual or incubation phase, which is an early stage of development where they are focusing on creating new game systems, world logic, and story roots. Fans shouldn't expect any quick announcements based on how things are going right now. First-party companies often take more than one year to make big games, especially when they're switching from one genre or format to another.

From a bigger picture point of view, Bend Studio's reorganization is a familiar story. As the games industry deals with higher production costs, longer development cycles, and changing audience standards, market changes can affect even teams that have been around for a long time. Layoffs are still a bad effect of these changes, as they impact not only project timelines but also the lives of developers, artists, and storytellers who helped make popular games.

Some people might see this new development as a setback, but it's important to remember how strong and creative Sony Bend is. From the Syphon Filter series to its more recent open-world games, the studio has a history that spans decades. It is still an important part of PlayStation's core development environment.

The question that still needs to be answered is what will happen next for Bend Studio. Will they come back to Days Gone with a better idea and a new pitch? Or will they try something completely different? Maybe a single-player story mode that fits better with Sony's prestige-first brand identity?

One thing is clear, no matter which way you look. Fans are still very passionate about Bend's work, and the possibility for powerful stories, solid gameplay, and new ideas that could lead to a franchise is still very much there.

For now, people in the business are interested in—and maybe even quietly optimistic about—how the next chapter will play out.