Summary
- Days Gone director John Garvin empathizes with Bend Studio over its recently-canceled live-service game.
- Garvin believes that Bend Studio’s developers had “no choice” when it came to PlayStation’s decision to cancel the project.
- Bend Studio is currently determining its next project, and there’s a possibility the team may return to single-player games.
Following the recent cancelation of Bend Studio’s live-service project, Days Gone director John Garvin has expressed empathy for the PlayStation first-party team. Even though Garvin exited Bend Studio in 2020 over rumored internal turbulence surrounding a Days Gone sequel, the former director still seems to have a soft spot for the developers working at the studio.
It was recently reported that PlayStation has canceled two upcoming live-service projects from Bluepoint Games and Bend Studio, two of the platform holder’s first-party teams. While the time and resources wasted on these now-canceled projects is unfortunate, the cancelation of Bend Studio’s game was a bigger sting for many PlayStation fans. Bend Studio last released Days Gone in 2019, following which there was supposedly some turmoil between studio leadership over the game’s sequel. This ultimately led to the departure of Jeff Ross and John Garvin, both of Days Gone‘s directors, and Bend Studio set to work on a brand-new IP.
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Bend Studio didn’t reveal much about its original project, aside from the fact that it would utilize Days Gone‘s open-world systems and include multiplayer elements. In December 2024, though, some leaked UI concept art suggested that Bend Studio’s next game was a live-service military shooter. Now that the project has been canceled, Days Gone director John Garvin recently took to Twitter to sympathize with the affected Bend Studio staff, stating that “this is a time for empathy,” regardless of anyone’s opinions on live-service games or PlayStation’s first-party strategy. Garvin added that he hopes for the best for Bend Studio, a sentiment that will no doubt be appreciated by the developers.
Days Gone Director John Garvin Suggests Bend Studio Devs Had “No Choice” About Recent Game Cancelation
In a separate thread, Garvin responded to a tweet about the PlayStation community’s supposed disdain for live-service first-party games, stating that while the notion is “true,” it doesn’t make it “suck less for the devs who have no choice.” It seems Garvin is convinced that Sony itself opted to end development of Bend Studio’s live-service game rather than the developers, which may just be true since the cancelation happened after a recent PlayStation first-party portfolio review.
PlayStation is said to be working closely with Bend Studio to best determine which project the studio should tackle next. Given that PlayStation’s live-service efforts have majorly stumbled in recent years, it appears quite plausible that Bend Studio could return to its roots and develop a single-player game, perhaps even the heavily-requested Days Gone sequel. Unfortunately, the prolonged development cycles of AAA games makes it all too likely that PlayStation fans won’t hear from Bend Studio until a few years into the PS6 generation.
Days Gone is an open-world action-adventure game set in a harsh wilderness two years after a devastating global pandemic. Play as Deacon St. John, a drifter and bounty hunter who rides the broken road, fighting to survive while searching for a reason to live.
Harsh Open World: Using the power of PlayStation 4 and Unreal Engine 4, Days Gone offers an incredibly realistic and detailed open-world experience. Immerse yourself in vast and hostile environments, and explore their secrets. Search abandoned vehicles, houses, truck stops and towns as you scavenge for resources. But be careful— day and night cycles, along with dynamic weather systems, all affect gameplay and enemy behavior.
Brutal Sandbox Combat: Perfect your gameplay with an endless combination of strategy and play in every situation. Craft customized items using pieces and parts found in the field, from brutal melee weapons to traps and more. Act wisely, as every choice can be the difference between life and death.
Open-World
Action
Adventure
- Released
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April 26, 2019
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- How Long To Beat
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36 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
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Extra & Premium
- OpenCritic Rating
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Fair
