Among Sony’s biggest missteps this generation is its failed live-service initiative, which led to the cancellation of projects from developers like Bend Studio. Touted as an open-world title with multiplayer and learnings from Days Gone, the year began with the project canned. Bend would allegedly lay off 30 percent of its staff several months later.
However, there may have been other reasons why the project didn’t get much chance. Senior animator Robert Morrison, who currently works at VOID Interactive on Ready or Not, revealed that “We didn’t make enough substantial progress over the 3 years I was there. I saw the eventual cancellation coming before it.”
While Sony’s own fumbles are definitely a factor, it seems the project didn’t reach the required milestones. While nothing is known about the studio’s plans, the LinkedIn profile for former game designer Jacob Feith noted “multiple cancelled/unannounced projects.” A listing from August also indicated that its next title could have multiplayer.
The studio also committed to continuing to create “cool s***” despite its live-service project getting cancelled. Its last title was Days Gone Remastered, which was released earlier this year for PS5. Check out our review here.
