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

The developer behind the popular game Days Gone, Bend Studio, remains optimistic about future projects despite the recent cancellation of their unannounced live-service game by parent company Sony. Last week, Sony not only canceled Bend Studio's project but also another unannounced live-service game being developed by Bluepoint Games, which was rumored to be a God of War title according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. A spokesperson from Sony confirmed these cancellations to Bloomberg, reassuring that neither studio would be closed and that they would collaborate on new endeavors.

Sony's ambitious push into live-service gaming has faced significant challenges. While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 achieved phenomenal success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks to become the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game, other ventures have not fared as well. Notably, Sony's Concord experienced one of the most significant failures in PlayStation's history, shutting down shortly after launch due to low player engagement. This followed the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida expressed that he would have resisted Sony's live-service push if he were in the current CEO Hermen Hulst's position.

In response to the cancellations, Bend Studio's community manager Kevin McAllister took to social media to thank fans for their support and hinted at exciting future plans, 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, Days Gone, was launched on PlayStation 4 in 2019 and later on PC in 2021.

During a recent financial call, Sony president, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki discussed the lessons learned from both the success of Helldivers 2 and the failure of Concord. Totoki emphasized the importance of implementing development gates like user testing and internal evaluations much earlier in the process. He admitted that Sony is still learning and needs to improve its approach to new IP development, suggesting that earlier intervention could have saved Concord or led to its timely cancellation.

Totoki also critiqued Sony's "siloed organization" and the unfortunate timing of Concord's release, which coincided with the launch of the successful Black Myth: Wukong on PS5 and PC. He stressed the need for better coordination across Sony's divisions and more strategic release windows to avoid cannibalization and maximize performance.

Sony's senior vice president for finance and IR, Sadahiko Hayakawa, echoed Totoki's sentiments during the same call, highlighting the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord. Hayakawa noted that the lessons learned from these experiences would be shared across Sony's studios to enhance development management and post-launch content strategies. He underscored Sony's commitment to building an optimal portfolio that balances single-player games, which have a higher predictability of success due to established IP, with live-service games that carry more risk but offer significant upside potential.

Looking ahead, Sony continues to develop several live-service games, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$, signaling an ongoing, albeit cautious, investment in this genre.