Sony Bend Sights Another Live Service Project

Sony quietly shelved a Sony Bend project earlier this year. It was a live service game that never reached players' hands. Some people in the industry might not be surprised by this move, but it's yet another sign that Sony's development process has been having a hard time lately. Many people thought that Days Gone 2 would be the studio's obvious next step.

Instead, Sony Bend was instructed to focus on creating multiplayer games, which has been challenging for teams accustomed to developing single-player games. It's much harder than it sounds to turn a company that makes story-driven, narrative-heavy games into a multiplayer powerhouse. Multiplayer games need a totally different set of skills from their single-player counterparts.

They require persistent world design, a balance between competitive and cooperative play, and regular content updates. It makes sense that many single-player studios have struggled since they had to transition to live service models. That Sony Bend's live service project was halted is just the most recent example of this recurring problem.

Still, Sony Bend seems ready to double down, even with these problems and past failures. A recent job posting indicates that the company is seeking individuals to contribute to a new multiplayer project. In other words, the next Sony Bend game will almost certainly be another live service game. Fans of the first Days Gone or people looking for a new single-player IP may be let down because the studio isn't focusing on making the story-driven games it does best anymore.

This trend makes me wonder more about Sony's plan for its single-player studios. Are they looking for the elusive "long-term cash cow"—a great live service game that can bring in money for years? And what price did it come at for the creators whose name was built on telling stories to single players? Many people who dislike this method argue that it could harm the very qualities that made studios like Sony Bend valuable in the first place. Moving back and forth between single-player and multiplayer can result in lackluster projects that don't please multiplayer fans or pay tribute to the studio's story roots.

It's hard not to feel angry at both the developers of the game and its players. People really liked Days Gone, and its fame keeps growing even years after it came out. A sequel seemed like a no-brainer, and it would be a great fit for Sony Bend's skills. Instead, the studio is being pushed back into live service, which is a risky move that could make it less unique.

Even though it's still too early to tell how good the new project will be, the choice sends a clear message: Sony Bend's next chapter will focus on multiplayer, and its single-player history will be put on the back burner. We don't know if this risk will pay off or hurt the studio's image even more, but one thing is for sure: Sony's live service graveyard just got a little bigger, which may be bad news for people who like single-player stories.