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

The developer behind Days Gone, Bend Studio, remains optimistic about future projects despite the recent cancellation of its unannounced live-service game by parent company Sony. Last week, Sony pulled the plug on two unannounced live-service titles, one from Bend Studio and another from Bluepoint Games, with the latter reportedly being a live-service God of War game, as per Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. While the specifics of Bend Studio's canceled project remain undisclosed, a Sony spokesperson confirmed the cancellations to Bloomberg, emphasizing that neither studio would be shut down and that future projects would be discussed with each studio.

Sony's venture into live-service gaming has faced numerous challenges. While Helldivers 2 by Arrowhead became a phenomenal success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other attempts have faltered. Notably, Concord stands out as a significant failure in PlayStation's history, lasting only a few weeks before being taken offline due to low player engagement. Following Concord's demise, Sony decided to close its developer, adding to the string of live-service disappointments including the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer game. 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 response to the recent developments, Bend Studio's community manager Kevin McAllister took to Twitter to reassure fans, stating, "Thanks for the love and support everyone, especially to those that have reached out. P.S. We still plan on creating cool shit." Bend Studio's most recent release was Days Gone on PlayStation 4 in 2019, which later saw a PC release in 2021.

During a recent financial call, Sony's president, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki reflected on the contrasting fates of Helldivers 2 and Concord. Totoki acknowledged the need for earlier and more rigorous development gates, such as user testing and internal evaluations, which could have potentially salvaged Concord or led to its earlier cancellation. He also pointed to Sony's "siloed organization" and the unfortunate timing of Concord's release, which coincided with the launch of the highly successful Black Myth: Wukong on PS5 and PC, suggesting possible market cannibalization.

Totoki emphasized the importance of smoother inter-departmental collaboration and optimal release timing to prevent future launch issues. Similarly, Sony senior vice president for finance and IR Sadahiko Hayakawa underscored the lessons learned from both Helldivers 2 and Concord, pledging to share these insights across Sony's studios to enhance development management and post-launch content scaling.

Looking ahead, Sony continues to develop several live-service games, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$. These projects reflect Sony's ongoing commitment to balancing its portfolio with both single-player games, which leverage the company's proven IPs and higher predictability of success, and live-service games that offer potential upside but come with inherent risks upon release.