The developer behind Days Gone, Bend Studio, remains committed to creating innovative projects despite Sony's recent cancellation of their unannounced live-service game. Last week, Sony pulled the plug on two live-service titles in development at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games. While Bluepoint was working on a live-service God of War game, the nature of Bend Studio's project remains undisclosed. A spokesperson from Sony confirmed these cancellations to Bloomberg, emphasizing that neither studio will shut down and that Sony will collaborate with them to explore future projects.
Sony's venture into live-service games has faced significant challenges. While Helldivers 2 by Arrowhead became a massive success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other attempts have been less successful. Concord, for instance, was a notable failure, lasting only a few weeks before being taken offline due to poor player engagement. Sony ultimately decided to terminate the game and close its developer. This came after the cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer game. In a recent statement, former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida expressed that he would have opposed Sony's aggressive push into live-service games if he were still in a leadership position.
In response to the cancellations, Bend Studio's community manager, Kevin McAllister, reassured fans via a tweet: “Thanks for the love and support everyone, especially to those that have reached out. P.S. We still plan on creating cool shit.” This message reflects Bend Studio's determination to continue innovating despite setbacks. Their most recent release was Days Gone in 2019 for the PlayStation 4, which later came to PC in 2021.
During a recent financial call, Sony's president, COO, and CFO, Hiroki Totoki, acknowledged the lessons learned from the contrasting outcomes of Helldivers 2 and Concord. Totoki admitted that Sony should have implemented development checkpoints such as user testing and internal evaluations much earlier in the development process of Concord. He suggested that earlier intervention could have either improved the game or led to its cancellation before launch.
Totoki also criticized Sony's "siloed organization," which he believes hindered smoother development and sales processes across different teams. He pointed out that Concord's launch timing, shortly after the successful release of Black Myth: Wukong, may have contributed to its poor performance due to market cannibalization. He emphasized the need for better timing and coordination to maximize the success of future game launches.
Sadahiko Hayakawa, Sony's senior vice president for finance and IR, also discussed the contrasting launches of Helldivers 2 and Concord during the same call. He highlighted the intention to share the insights gained from these experiences across Sony's studios, particularly in areas such as development management and post-launch content expansion. Hayakawa stressed the importance of building a balanced portfolio that includes both single-player games, which have a higher predictability of success due to established IP, and live-service games that offer potential for growth despite inherent risks.
Looking ahead, Sony continues to develop several live-service games, including Marathon by Bungie, Horizon Online by Guerrilla, and Fairgame$ by Haven Studio. These projects represent Sony's ongoing commitment to exploring new avenues in gaming, despite recent setbacks.
