The developer behind the popular game Days Gone, Bend Studio, remains committed to creating innovative content despite Sony's recent cancellation of their unannounced live-service game. Last week, Sony pulled the plug on two live-service projects, one from Bend Studio and another from Bluepoint Games, the latter of which was rumored to be a live-service God of War game, as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. While the specifics of Bend Studio's project remain under wraps, a Sony spokesperson confirmed the cancellations but reassured that both studios would continue operations and collaborate on future endeavors.
Sony's venture into live-service gaming has faced numerous challenges. While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 achieved remarkable success, selling 12 million copies in just 12 weeks and becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever, other attempts have faltered. Notably, Sony's Concord turned out to be a significant disappointment, 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 push into live-service games 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 future projects, 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 in 2019 for PlayStation 4, which later came to PC in 2021.
During a recent financial call, Sony's president, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki reflected on the contrasting fortunes of Helldivers 2 and Concord. He acknowledged that Sony should have implemented development checkpoints, such as user testing and internal evaluations, much earlier in the process for Concord. Totoki admitted that Sony is still learning and emphasized the importance of early and frequent evaluations for new IPs. He also pointed to Sony's "siloed organization" and the timing of Concord's release, which coincided with the launch of the successful Black Myth: Wukong, as potential factors contributing to its failure.
Sony's senior vice president for finance and IR, Sadahiko Hayakawa, also spoke during the call, comparing the launches of Helldivers 2 and Concord. He stressed that the lessons learned from these experiences would be shared across Sony's studios to enhance development management and post-launch content strategies. Hayakawa outlined Sony's plan to build an optimal portfolio that balances single-player games, which have a higher predictability of success due to established IPs, with live-service games that carry more risk but offer potential for significant growth.
Looking ahead, Sony continues to develop several live-service titles, including Bungie's Marathon, Guerrilla's Horizon Online, and Haven Studio's Fairgame$. These projects represent Sony's ongoing commitment to exploring the live-service model despite recent setbacks.
