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 projects despite Sony's cancellation of their unannounced live-service game. This follows Sony's recent decision to scrap two unannounced live-service titles, one reportedly a God of War game from Bluepoint Games, and another from Bend Studio. While neither studio will be closed, Sony is reassessing its approach to live-service games.
Sony's foray into the live-service market has been uneven. The resounding success of Helldivers 2, a PlayStation Studios record-breaker, stands in stark contrast to the failures of other ventures, most notably Concord, which was shut down after a disastrously short lifespan due to low player numbers. This followed the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida even voiced his reservations about Sony's aggressive live-service strategy.
Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, reassured fans via Twitter, stating their continued commitment to developing "cool stuff." Their last release was Days Gone in 2019 (PC release in 2021).
Sony's financial call shed light on the lessons learned from both Helldivers 2's triumph and Concord's failure. Hiroki Totoki, Sony's president, COO, and CFO, highlighted the need for earlier user testing and internal evaluations to identify and address potential problems before launch. He also cited Sony's "siloed organization" and Concord's unfortunate release window, potentially leading to market cannibalization, as contributing factors to its failure. Sadahiko Hayakawa, senior vice president for finance and IR, further emphasized the importance of sharing these lessons across studios to improve future development and live-service management.
Sony's future live-service plans include titles from Bungie (Marathon), Guerrilla (Horizon Online), and Haven Studio (Fairgame$). The company aims for a balanced portfolio, combining its strengths in single-player games with calculated risks in the live-service arena.
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