Bend Studio Vows to Keep Creating 'Cool Stuff' Post Sony Live Service Cancellation

The developer behind *Days Gone*, Bend Studio, has reassured fans that it remains committed to creating exciting new content despite Sony's recent cancellation of its unannounced live-service game. Last week, Sony decided to pull the plug on two live-service projects in development at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games. While the specifics of Bend Studio's game remain under wraps, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported that Bluepoint was working on a live-service *God of War* game. A Sony spokesperson confirmed these cancellations to Bloomberg, emphasizing that neither studio would close and that future projects would be determined collaboratively.

Sony's venture into live-service gaming has faced significant challenges. While Arrowhead's *Helldivers 2* soared as a breakout success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks to become the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other endeavors have not fared as well. *Concord*, in particular, stands out as a monumental failure for PlayStation, shutting down just weeks after its launch due to dismal player engagement. This follows the cancellation of Naughty Dog's *The Last of Us* multiplayer game. Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida expressed he would have resisted Sony's live-service push if he were in the position of current CEO Hermen Hulst.

In response to the cancellations, Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, took to Twitter to thank fans for their support, promising that the studio "still plan[s] on creating cool shit." This message comes as Bend Studio's most recent release, *Days Gone*, was launched on PlayStation 4 in 2019 and later on PC in 2021.

In a recent financial call, Sony's president, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki discussed the lessons learned from the contrasting fortunes of *Helldivers 2* and *Concord*. Totoki admitted that Sony should have implemented development checkpoints, like user testing and internal evaluations, much earlier in *Concord*'s development cycle. He highlighted the need for earlier intervention to either improve the game or cancel it before launch. Totoki also pointed to Sony's "siloed organization" and *Concord*'s unfortunate release timing, which coincided with the launch of the successful *Black Myth: Wukong*, suggesting potential market cannibalization.

Totoki stressed the importance of better cross-organizational collaboration and optimal release windows to prevent future cannibalization and maximize performance. During the same financial call, Sony's senior vice president for finance and IR, Sadahiko Hayakawa, compared the launches of *Helldivers 2* and *Concord*, noting that the lessons learned from these experiences would be disseminated across Sony's studios. Hayakawa outlined plans to enhance development management and post-launch content strategies to strengthen Sony's gaming portfolio, which will include both single-player titles and live-service games.

Looking ahead, several PlayStation live-service games are still in development, including Bungie's *Marathon*, Guerrilla's *Horizon Online*, and Haven Studio's *Fairgame$*.