Days Gone 2 Rumors Gain Momentum as Bend Studio Starts a New AAA Project

Days Gone 2 has become one of those sequels that fans have refused to stop talking about, even after Sony rejected the original sequel pitch and Bend Studio moved on. For years, there was little reason to believe the company would return to the series, especially after Bend publicly pushed back against rumors and worked on an entirely different project. 

That multiplayer game was eventually canceled in 2025, followed by layoffs at the studio, leaving Bend in another period of uncertainty. Now, with the developer reportedly working on a new major console project, the possibility of Days Gone 2 feels more promising than it has in years.

The biggest new detail comes from journalist Jason Schreier. 

Jason Schreier recently discussed Bend Studio and indicated that the team has moved on to something else following the cancellation of its previous project. According to the discussion, Bend has survived significant changes, including lost leadership, the rejection of its Days Gone 2 pitch, and the cancellation of its multiplayer game. 

However, Schreier also expects to see what the studio is making within the next year or two. If that prediction is accurate, a reveal could arrive around 2027 or 2028, although that should be viewed as an informed expectation rather than a confirmed Sony plan.

That distinction is important because Bend’s previous project explains why the studio was not working on Days Gone 2 for the past several years. In 2024, Bend community manager Kevin McAllister told fans to stop believing rumors and apologized for the false hope surrounding a potential sequel. 

Sony had already confirmed that Bend’s next game was a new multiplayer IP, with the project designed to build on the open-world technology and systems the studio had developed while making Days Gone. That game was canceled in January 2025, meaning the studio has once again had to decide what comes next.

This is where a potential Days Gone 2 becomes more logical. Bend has already spent years developing open-world systems, multiplayer technology, large-scale AI, and dynamic encounters, and much of that work was connected to ideas that originally grew out of Days Gone. 

After Sony canceled the new IP, the company could have pushed Bend toward another completely unproven franchise, but returning to an established series would give the studio a world, audience, and gameplay foundation that it already understands.

Sony’s treatment of the original game is another reason the sequel discussion continues. 

Days Gone Remastered launched in April 2025, bringing the game back with PS5 improvements alongside new content such as Horde Assault and speedrun features. Sony also gave the remaster another marketing push through State of Play, putting a game that originally launched in 2019 back in front of players years later. 

The game’s reputation has also changed significantly since its original release. Days Gone had a rough launch, with technical problems becoming a major part of the early discussion around the game, and it struggled to receive the same level of critical praise as some of Sony’s other first-party releases. 

Over time, however, the PC version brought in another audience, while the game developed a much stronger long-term fan base. That matters because Sony’s original decision regarding Days Gone 2 came relatively close to the first game’s launch, before the title had years to establish the following it has today.

The story itself also gives Bend plenty of material to work with. Days Gone did not end by fully closing off its world, especially with the reveal involving O’Brian. He is infected but remains intelligent and capable of speaking normally, and he also shows physical changes that set him apart from ordinary Freakers. 

O’Brian warns Deacon that the virus is evolving and that something worse is coming, leaving a major storyline unresolved. That reveal feels like a clear setup for another chapter, especially because the original game ends with the outbreak becoming more complicated rather than providing a definitive conclusion.

Bend’s original ideas for a sequel were also much bigger than simply moving Deacon into another region. 

Jeff Ross has previously discussed concepts involving a shared world and cooperative gameplay, with players potentially surviving together, forming groups, and taking on Freaker hordes as a team. The single-player story would still have remained important rather than being replaced entirely by multiplayer. 

Interestingly, Bend later spent years developing a separate open-world multiplayer project that used technology and knowledge derived from Days Gone, creating an obvious connection between what the studio wanted to do with the sequel and what it eventually researched for its canceled game.

If Bend is now starting another AAA game, that previous work does not necessarily need to disappear. A Days Gone sequel could build directly on the studio’s experience with open-world design, dynamic AI, multiplayer systems, and large-scale encounters. 

Instead of starting from scratch, Bend could take systems it has already spent years developing and apply them to a franchise that already has an established identity. That makes Days Gone 2 one of the more natural possibilities for the studio’s next project, even though there is still no official confirmation that it is happening.

The gameplay itself gives Bend plenty of room to expand. The motorcycle, survival mechanics, weather systems, dynamic open world, and Freaker hordes remain the defining features of Days Gone, and a sequel would not need to completely reinvent them. 

Instead, Bend could take those systems further with modern hardware, particularly when it comes to the size and behavior of the hordes. The original game was already capable of putting substantial numbers of Freakers on screen, with enemies climbing over obstacles, moving through buildings, and chasing players across large sections of the world.

Horde Assault in the remaster also shows that Bend still sees potential in this particular mechanic. 

A full sequel could increase enemy density, improve AI behavior, create more dynamic encounters, and make hordes a deeper part of the open world instead of treating them primarily as major challenges. 

The multiplayer experience from Bend’s canceled project could also provide useful knowledge if Sony wants some form of cooperative content without turning Days Gone 2 into a live-service game. Co-op could work especially well with the series’ survival and horror elements, as long as the single-player campaign and its story remain the foundation.

For now, Days Gone 2 remains unconfirmed, and there is no announcement from Sony or Bend Studio that the sequel is actually in development. What has changed is the situation surrounding the developer. 

Bend has finished with the project that previously occupied its teams, Sony has continued to support the Days Gone brand, the original game has developed a stronger audience over time, and the studio is reportedly working on another major game.