Sequels and remakes are tricky to get right. It can be hard to preserve the charm and quality of the original in a follow-up. It can be even tougher to surpass and iterate on what the first game did so well. Some games are just absolutely begging to be expanded upon with a new entry, and it’s those that we’ll be highlighting here. Each of these titles represents a ‘what if’ that gamers are hungry to see happen one day, but whether due to corporate meddling or cancellations, they still seem so far away.

So with that, here are the ten games whose surprise trailers would make the community absolutely lose it.

Days Gone 2

While the odds of a Days Gone sequel remains unlikely, Sony Bend has managed to stir hype thanks to the game’s April 2025 remaster. with its remaster. Days Gone Remaster finally smooths out the original’s rough framerate while enhancing its visuals with better shadows and 4K resolution. That release reignited hope for a sequel, but those hopes were eventually crushed when Sony Bend posted a job listing seeking someone with “experience with multiplayer game development and design.” The studio has a history of outright dismissing any possibility of a sequel in the past as well, but demand remains high, and where there’s demand, there’s money. Knowing Sony, it wouldn’t be completely implausible to eventually see a Days Gone 2 in the future, especially if fans remain vocal about it.

The Saboteur 2

Remember Pandemic? No, not the 2020 one, the studio that brought us Destroy All Humans and Mercenaries Playground of Destruction. The Saboteur was their last game before being dissolved into the rest of EA, and it had a lot of unique things going for it. Sure, it followed the Ubisoft open-world design ethos, but the WWII France setting and the mechanic of restoring color to liberated districts stood out. Now imagine how cool a sequel with top-notch voice talent and an actually compelling story would be. With EA’s enormous budget and the creative potential of that setting, a Saboteur 2 could finally give us a GTA-style game set in WWII Europe, but it’s a long shot at best.

Uncharted 5

The last time we ventured into the world of Uncharted was 2017’s spin-off starring Chloe and Nadine. Lost Legacy seemed to be paving the way for the next generation of Uncharted with its more open-ended exploration and, well, lack of Nathan Drake. Of course, Nathan’s story isn’t necessarily over following the ending of Uncharted 4. Like Indy coming out of retirement in the latest Indiana Jones films, Nathan can be called for one last globe-trotting adventure. Uncharted 5 is rather likely to happen at some point. Naughty Dog has been working on a project led by Uncharted writer Shaun Escayg for years now, and it’s not Intergalactic. It’s unlikely we’ll see Uncharted 5 before Intergalactic releases, but we sure hope to see it at some point.

Bloodborne 2

Is there any video game sequel more craved than Bloodborne 2? Bloodborne is the one gigantic Sony-owned IP that somehow just keeps getting overlooked. The Last of Us got numerous remasters and even Days Gone just received one. What is Sony waiting for? Well, one thing’s certain: if Bloodborne 2 were announced, it would be the only game capable of rivaling GTA 6 in sheer hype. Here’s hoping it avoids the multiplayer-heavy direction of FromSoftware’s recent projects and instead doubles down on the slow-burn, atmospheric exploration that made the original Bloodborne unforgettable.

Titanfall 3

Titanfall 3 occupies the same heartbreaking territory as Bloodborne 2: everyone wants it, yet EA refuses to greenlight it. The first cancellation came in 2019, when EA halted development in favor of Apex Legends, chasing the booming hero-shooter market and its lucrative ongoing revenue. Then, earlier in 2025, The developer had to shutter their planned Titanfall extraction shooter due to layoffs. What made Titanfall 2 so special was its well-paced and wildly inventive single-player campaign. It’s probably the last significant FPS campaign that I can think of that wasn’t a Doom title. It’s still not an impossibility that the developer gets a legitimate opportunity to make Titanfall 3, but a major shift in EA’s priorities needs to happen first.

Sleeping Dogs 2

This one’s more of a pipe dream than others on this list. Sleeping Dogs is a very popular cult classic for a reason; it oozed personality and was a genuine counterpart to GTA. Unfortunately, the development studio, United Front Games, shut down in 2016. The main developer still holds the rights to the Sleeping Dogs IP, though, so maybe there is a snowball’s chance in Southtown for it to happen. The studio’s MMO spin-off, Triad Wars, took place within the universe of Sleeping Dogs. launched briefly in open beta but was quickly shut down after poor reception. But imagine a thoroughbred sequel to Sleeping Dogs, one that wasn’t a sloppy MMO, but a single-player game with a more intricate Hong Kong map filled with fully realized martial-arts combat propelled by modern processing power. A proper Sleeping Dogs 2 could be incredible.

Metal Gear 1 Remake

“I FEEL ASLEEP!!” Imagine that iconic line from the 1988 NES version of the original Metal Gear (first released in 1987) being fully voiced in a modern, high-fidelity remake. Unlike polished and cleaned up script of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, I’d want Konami to preserve the hilarious botched translation of the original. It would both honor Kojima and provide some charm to the game. Of course, the fully blown HD graphics and character renderings would probably make those lines extra awkward, but hey, that’s what makes the series so lovable, right? The good news is a remake of the original Metal Gear isn’t impossible. Konami has shown a willingness to remake classic Metal Gear Solid titles faithfully. And what better candidates than the very first games from the ’80s?

New Dino Crisis

Forget a new Dino Crisis—I’d settle for a remaster or a full remake of the first game. Oh, who am I kidding, I want a new Dino Crisis, sigh. The developer sits on the most beloved dormant IP, barely acknowledging series that fans have begged to see return. Who doesn’t want a new Mega Man (especially Legends), Breath of Fire, or of course, Dino Crisis? Dino Crisis—a 90s survival-horror game —never grew past its more action-oriented 2003 third entry. But fans still swear by the first game, which followed the classic Resident Evil formula in a Jurassic Park-inspired setting. A modern-day game firing on all cylinders would do justice to the original Dino Crisis if RE 2 and RE 3 Remakes are anything to go by. But just imagine what they could do with a completely new entry with the mature horror and first-person perspective of, say, Resident Evil 7.

A New inFamous

Continuing the trend of studios sitting on a golden goose is Sucker Punch and their dormant inFamous series. There was a time when a new InFamous game was the talk of the gaming town. It was a series about open world parkouring around realistic city-scapes. But one element that sets inFamous apart is its Karma system. You can choose your morality in these games, something that shows itself in the powers you unlock as well as key story decisions. With today’s more advanced processing and capabilities, the potential of that system is enormous. Imagine branching storylines, deeper morality-driven powers, and immersive-sim-style world reactions. Heck, just adding more customization elements based on morality would be awesome. But Sucker Punch will need to step away from Ghost to make it happen—and it’s unclear when that day will come.

Sekiro 2

Finally, we have another FromSoftware juggernaut that’s been left alone since its release. Unlike Bloodborne, Sekiro never even received any DLC. None. We all kinda applauded their restraint at the time, but after some years away, it’s hard not to wish the game had gotten an expansion or two. Out of all the Fromsoft games, Sekiro takes the cake for having the most awesome combat. Its very focused and specialized, leading to more intricate and precise controls. Sure, Sekiro didn’t have a lot of playstyles to choose from, but that focus is what made the limited style so polished. A sequel could expand your playstyle selection pretty significantly, and without sacrificing the original’s polish. The core combat system is already built—they’d just need to expand the build options a bit. Fans would love to see it, but as many know, Hidetaka Miyazaki isn’t fond of sequels. So while Sekiro 2 would be a dream come true, we shouldn’t expect it anytime soon.

This is the reality Days Gone and its legion of fans are facing. Except, unlike the examples just given Days Gone sold well, brought fresh ideas to the open world genre, and – in developer Bend Studio – has a solid team behind it; a collective demonstrably capable of producing top-tier games, a team that made the game they wanted to make.

Now passed is Sony’s September State of Play, gone without a whiff of Deek’s motorbike exhaust fumes despite heavy rumours a Days Gone PS5 remaster is right around the corner. These rumours began innocuously, as they always do. Commenting on X, VGC host Jordan Middler responded to Jeff Grubb of the Game Mess Mornings podcast who was touting a game less exciting than Horizon Zero Dawn is slated for remaster, with an announcement coming during September’s State of Play. Middler’s response to Grubb suggested former Bend Studio creative director John Garvin would be irked by this summation, given how unimpressed he was that Deacon St. John’s image was used to sell copies of Astro Bot.

As it happens, Grubb may have been referring to other remasters – harsh, if so. Or he was fed dud information. Whatever the game behind his claim, it wasn’t related to Days Gone. We heard nothing: not a remaster, remake, enhanced edition, or – as has grown increasingly unlikely – a sequel.

Although, regarding sequels it’s well established by now that Days Gone 2 isn’t happening. Cast your mind back to before these State of Play rumours emerged back in June 2024. Bend Studio community manager Kevin McAllister publicly apologised to Days Gone’s fans as, according to him, they’d been “getting fed false hope and poor information by people looking for likes”, although he stopped short of mentioning any of the individuals by name. The upshot: nothing new is in the works for the series. A sequel isn’t forthcoming and for anyone to suggest otherwise is plainly being unfair on the fanbase who are anxious for a return joyride through verdant, zombie ravaged Oregon.

The question really is why have Sony distanced themselves so much from the game? Over 7 million sales and a legion of fans anticipating a follow-up – not to mention the game ending on a cliff-hanger – it seems non-sensical for Days Gone 2 not to become a reality. Yes, the game was dealt a poor critical reception upon release owing to a sleugh of bugs and glitches, but these have largely been resolved. Maybe, in this current climate, one in which Sony are still pursuing live-service opportunities, Days Gone 2 is merely shelved for now. Remember though, nothing official is being worked on. Bend Studio themselves are currently developing a AAA live-service open world game, but like Remedy and Alan Wake II, history tells us that sequels can come years after their predecessors. So, if a Days Gone sequel does ever emerge would an enhanced version of the original help or hinder?

Before we get into that it’s worth pointing out that a PS5 version of Days Gone already exists. One that targets up to 60 fps with dynamic 4K resolution. A PS5 Pro version, as is more likely than a remake or remaster at this stage, isn’t outside the realms of possibility. And it’d be more worthwhile than a simple remaster given the PS5 version already out there. However, an enhanced version that sits somewhere between a remaster and a remake could prove quite successful, even if it is a little fanciful at this point in time.

Horizon Zero Dawn’s upcoming remaster – lambasted at first but showing signs of acceptance – is doing more than bringing the seven-year-old game up to the same graphical fidelity as its sequel. Over ten hours of conversation has been re-recorded, motion capture has been improved, and character models and animations have been upgraded. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster harbours numerous quality of life improvements, updated controls, and refined, more intelligent NPC AI alongside the usual licks of graphical paint. The Last of Us Part II Remastered adds a plethora of bonus content – some cut from the original game, others entirely new modes to try out.

This approach could be taken with Days Gone should this hypothetical enhanced edition ever come to fruition. There are numerous elements which, when improved, would move the game beyond a basic remaster to something more akin to the examples just given. Character interactions, for example, could be greatly expanded, and not just with tertiary characters like Boozer or Copeland but dialogue options for random camp-dwelling NPCs will boost immersion. The game’s weapon progression system leaves a lot to be desired, with build variety too narrow to promote a variety of playstyles. Heck, each camp could become more faction-like, with interactivity amongst themselves instead of just existing as standalone settlements.

Bend Studio game director Jeff Ross, speaking in 2021, mentioned co-operative play as an idea they had for Days Gone which was parked until presumably a sequel. More specifically, Ross states that they’d take the world’s “assets and systems and repurpose them for some sort of similarly themed multiplayer version of this universe.” He continues saying it “would be with guys like Deacon trying to survive, building up a clubhouse or a crew.” This would fit nicely into an enhanced-slash-remastered version. If there’s one way the game’s standout horde battles could be improved, it’d be via working together with others.

These a just a handful of ideas, but they speak to the scope of a game which – now all its technical kinks have been ironed out – has a proper foundation laid to build on worthy improvement. Should a suitably enhanced version of Days Gone appear then it’d be surprising if this didn’t sell well, especially if Sony opt to implement an upgrade path like we’ve seen with other remasters.

Critical reception played a big part in Days Gone’s downfall. Sony’s speculative issues with Bend Studio’s former creative director are meaningless now, if they even had any influence on Sony pulling the plug on further Day Gone content. Also, there is the much less publicised revelation that the decision to veer away from Days Gone 2 was made internally by the remaining devs at Bend Studio anyway. There’s evidently internal strife between Bend and Sony we’ll never be fully appraised of, but maybe failure was too strong a declaration at this feature’s outset. Days Gone has attained cult status. It hasn’t failed. And… bottom line: money talks, and Days Gone has made some.

Should by some miracle an enhanced remaster of Days Gone see the light of day then it’d no doubt sell like hot cakes. This, and perhaps only this, will pave the way for a Days Gone sequel, and maybe even a trilogy (or is that just wishful thinking?).

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

One of the biggest stumbles for Sony’s first party was Days Gone– a solid enough game in its own right, but not quite at the level that Sony would have wanted it to be. Pacing issues, technical problems, some half-baked gameplay ideas, and other flaws combined to make for what was probably one of the roughest first party PlayStation releases of the PS4 era (at least in its later years). But then again, Days Gone had plenty of bright spots as well, and the general feeling among those who played it was that with a sequel, developer SIE Bend Studio could deliver something truly special.

That sequel probably isn’t going to happen anytime soon, if ever. In early 2021, reports revealed that Sony Bend’s pitch for a Days Gone sequel had been rejected by Sony (or maybe even by Bend’s own local management). The studio seems to have left the IP behind, and now is working on another new open world IP. But more than a few times, we’ve seen games that have managed to sand out their rough edges after the first instalment with a stellar sequel- Sony’s own Uncharted did the very same, after all. So why is it that Days Gone wasn’t given the chance? What the hell happened?

A recent interview conducted by USA Today with former Days Gone director Jeff Ross – who is no longer at Sony Bend – has provided a number of interesting insights- and the gist seems that be that after the complicated and troubled development of the original game, the starts just could not align for a sequel in the way that some at Bend had hoped they would. Days Gone’s development was laden with budget constraints and time constraints, and Ross has talked about how a number of the issues that were present in the game were in there exactly for those reasons, from the start-stop pacing to the technical problems to the inconsistent boss fights and mission design.

For Days Gone 2, Sony Bend had several interesting ideas. They wanted to expand upon the excellent emergent, systemic gameplay of the first game, while layering new gameplay ideas and mechanics on top- from new animals in the open world to co-op and multiplayer to adding actual, proper swimming. On top of that, with a foundation firmly in place, there was the feeling that Bend would be able to weed out a lot of the issues that generally go hand in hand with developing a completely new IP from scratch. With those ideas and a lot of the technology already in place, a sequel could have not only refined the original game’s ideas, but taken them even further with additional layers.

But as Ross explains, Sony Bend’s own local management wasn’t happy with how the first game performed. It apparently sold quite well (though there’s some confusion about the exact sales figures, especially seeing as Sony has not provided the same), but even so, Days Gone was considered a disappointment by the higher ups. That, of course, is down to the game’s critical reception. Its lower 70s Metacritic score falls way below the standards that Sony has clearly set for itself, which demand its prestige, flagship titles to be among the best games of the year every year. Given that, it’s clear that Days Gone inherently lost a lot of value as an IP in its publisher’s eyes.

There’s also the fact that Bend itself has seen a lot of changes over the last couple of years. As Ross explained in the USA Today interview, not long after Days Gone’s launch, creative director John Garvin was let go by the studio, apparently because there was quite a lot of friction between him and many others at Bend. Following that, the developer adopted a flat structure- rather than having one or two directors in charge, they adopted a committee approach for their next project, which, according to Ross, was far from ideal for the development of a massive, ambitious AAA project. That, in turn, led to Ross’ departure as well.

In that time, Bend had some other projects going, almost none of which came to fruition. Reports have claimed that an Uncharted game was in the works at one point, with Naughty Dog supervising, but was shelved when the studio expressed its disappointment at having to work on the IP under another developer’s supervision rather than something of its own. Ross has said that ideas were floated around for a Resistance game, as well as for a new Syphon Filter game, but none of these came to fruition either.

The gist seems to be that things weren’t the best at Sony Bend for quite a while. There was internal strife, there were disagreements about how to run things, there were disagreements with parent company Sony about whether or not Days Gone deserved a sequel, there was restructuring- given all of that, and who knows what else that hasn’t been made public knowledge, it’s not a surprise that we’re not getting a Days Gone 2. It seems like it was the development of the first game that brought a number of these issues to light, and all of that combined with the fact that the first game wasn’t even close to being the critical darling that Sony wants basically all of its flagship PlayStation releases to be at this point, it makes sense, as disappointing as it is, that a sequel wasn’t greenlit.

Of course, Sony and Sony Bend both say that the studio’s next game is going to build on the systemic and emergent strengths of Days Gone. In that, the new IP might be able to avoid a lot of the same pitfalls that proved to be major stumbling blocks for their previous game. If Bend can bring over a lot of the technology and ideas that they established with Days Gone and refine them further with their next game, they might be able to deliver a much better received product, especially if they can avoid the internal strife that Days Gone’s production seemingly suffered. Sure, it’ll always be disappointing that Days Gone isn’t going to get the sequel that so many people feel it deserved- but hopefully the future is going to look brighter for Bend, because above all else, it’s clear that under the right circumstances, the studio is capable of making the kind of game Sony wants it to make.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Launching in 2019, Days Gone was Sony Bend’s first new IP in quite a while. Although it ended up being their most successful game, reviews for the title were decidedly mixed at launch. This came down to a host of issues – the game’s lack of technical polish (always surprising for a Sony first party game), its relative lower quality compared to other PlayStation Studios games in the last decade or so, its rather generic and bland premise that it never does as much with, and despite some interesting systemic conceits, it playing it mostly by the book. All of these problems ended up making this the worst received of the “big” flagship Sony first party games. Although you could look at some of the smaller fare, such as Predator Hunting Grounds, to find games that had performed worse still, Days Gone was a premier game that was meant to stand side by side with titles such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima (both of which in turn marked the ascension of their respective developers from making games that were merely good to making ones that count among the best titles of their respective years).

In spite of these relatively muted reviews – our own review for the game awarded it a 7/10, which is substantially lower than the scores we awarded Uncharted 4, Horizon, Bloodborne, The Last of Us Part 2, God of War, Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima, and Death Stranding – the game did well. It likely sold millions, and it garnered a vocal and fiercely passionate fanbase. I would also be remiss to not mention the fact that multiple post-launch updates added a fair bit of polish and functionality to the game that did improve its quality and merits by at least a little. It’s still not a game that can stand toe to toe with the other major Sony games of the last decade, but it was at the very least a much better game than the low-70s scores that it got at launch would indicate, thanks to those subsequent fixes.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect a sequel to Days Gone in these circumstances. Most importantly, of course, it had sold well, and commercial success is after all the primary concern when new games are greenlit. As mentioned, it had a fiercely passionate fan following as well. Finally, of course, Sony has a history of several of its now major franchises and studios having started from relatively humbler roots. A major Sony studio such as Guerilla Games started out with Killzone, a game panned upon launch. While Killzone saw relatively better received sequels for a while, eventually Guerrilla ended up putting out yet another poorly received title in the series with Shadow Fall. Nonetheless, credit to Sony for still believing in them, because their next game ended up being Horizon Zero Dawn, which would go on to not only become their best received and bestselling title yet, but also a significant hit for Sony, and a game that would inform the direction their subsequent first party efforts would take in several important ways.

Then there is a franchise like Uncharted – yes, even the infallible Naughty Dog had a relatively rough start with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Though received fairly well, it wasn’t exactly a game of the year contender (in fact, much like the PS3 itself, it was completely overshadowed by other major releases of its year, including Halo 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 and Mass Effect). However, Sony, again, had the faith to stick with Naughty Dog, and their next game would be Uncharted 2, considered one of the best games ever made to this day. Uncharted 2‘s success would in turn lead to the recalibration of Naughty Dog’s development sensibilities, as well as the promotion of personnel, who would go on to deliver The Last of Us a few years later, which is to this day the most significant Sony first party game ever.

What I’m trying to say is that Sony has been known to give its developers a lot of leeway even if they don’t get it exactly right on the first go. They let those developers try again, and get a second shot at hitting it big. It was especially perplexing, when viewed in that context, that Sony has apparently chosen not to extend the same benefit of the doubt to Bend – especially when Sony’s current head of first party efforts, Herman Hulst, is himself a Guerilla Games alum, who rose to prominence following the incredible success of Horizon. Why is Days Gone not being given a chance when so many other Sony studios and franchises have?

The most important thing to remember here is, as always, context. The comparisons listed above, while fair, are also not 1:1 analogous. Giving Guerilla Games or Naughty Dog multiple chances in the PS3 or even early PS4 eras, when game development budgets were significantly lower, is a substantially different undertaking than giving Sony Bend another blank check in an era where games can cost tens of millions of dollars – if not hundreds – to develop, with years of time, money, and resources pooled into their production. Purely commercially speaking, for Sony, it made far more sense to let a developer have another shot after a relatively poorly received title back in the 2000s and early 2010s, when multiple games put together would probably not cost as much to make as a single one may now.

The other major factor to remember here, and this one is a far more intangible one and therefore harder to explain and harder to palate, is the broader brand alignment of PlayStation Studios that Sony wants, and how Days Gone may or may not fit into that vision. To put that in plain language, in the last few years, there has been a very clear attempt by Sony to develop a consistent, cohesive vision and fabric for its first party titles that extends across all its big hits. As much as people arguing on message boards online might want to convince you otherwise, this is not a bad thing at all. Brands spend millions of dollars and years to have an instantly recognizable and cohesive direction across their product line, which can be instantly associated with them by the average customer. Look at how hard Marvel has worked to have a template and aesthetic that is distinctly theirs, which moviewatchers can not only instantly, subconsciously identify with Marvel when watching their movies, but even extend to using as a general adjective for other movies and even TV shows and games. Describing TV shows or games or movies as “like a Marvel movie” has happened because Marvel has worked hard at establishing a very clearly delineated and recognizable aesthetic and direction for their products that can be summed up as “Marvel”. Their movies by definition have to have similarities, or “like a Marvel movie” would have no meaning as a statement – how would it, if every Marvel movie is different?

Sony has worked hard to have this kind of singular aesthetic and structure that can be recognized across all their games too. No, I am not giving any credence to the “Sony template” memes that people like to bandy about unironically, but there is a clear shared thread across flagship Sony games – story-focused single player third person action-adventure games. Back in the PS3 era, when Sony used to make a lot of different kinds of games with no clear commonality across them, there was no consistent vision or aesthetic tying them together – but today, that is clearly not the case. As I mentioned earlier, this is a good thing. It’s the kind of thing companies take years and obscene amounts of money to achieve, and Sony having achieved it is a very clear part of their overall goals. And Sony isn’t even the only company to have achieved this within the gaming industry – there is a very clear common aesthetic and design sensibility across all Nintendo games, for example, which is why “Nintendo game” can be used so effortlessly as a generic adjective.

But the point of me bringing this up isn’t just to say that Sony’s games have a consistent direction of being story-driven open world third person action-adventure games. Because if that was all it was, then Days Gone very clearly fits into quite literally every single one of those slots. No, there is another unspoken, but heavily implied, component to Sony first party games’ overall identity that Sony views as being integral – integral enough that it supercedes everything else, in fact. And that factor is “quality.”

See, Sony has actually indicated this several times – it views its flagship productions as big quality initiatives. These are games that not only do abundantly well with critics, but are also big winners come award season. This emphasis on quality helps Sony create an aura of prestige around their brand as a whole, contributing to the overall desirability of every new flagship Sony game simply for existing – because a new Sony game must be something to pay attention to, given how incredible every single one of their other titles has been. It also helps drive the desirability and narrative surrounding these games, creating system sellers out of them because the PlayStation ecosystem can lay claim to having a guaranteed stream of high quality award winning games that you simply cannot get anywhere else.

Quality is crucial to Sony’s vision. That’s what the whole software strategy is built on. That’s what the whole console strategy is built on, in fact. Because obviously, while Sony recognizes that the bulk of its console revenues and success comes from the average customer who buys a PlayStation to play Fortnite and FIFA, they also recognize that if Fortnite and FIFA is all their consoles had to offer, there wouldn’t be any reason whatsoever to pick PlayStation over competing propositions such as Xbox. Sony’s entire console business relies on them selling their platform as an attractive proposition for third party publishers to sell their software on as a de facto option, based on a massive, engaged install base. But that massive and engaged install base comes from Sony consistently putting out quality exclusives that compel people to buy into PlayStation, and keep engaging with the platform. That can only happen if those quality exclusives are, in fact, quality. If the average customer walks into the store and has an option between two identically specced out and priced consoles, both of which can play Fortnite and FIFA, but one which can also play a stream of award winning games that the other cannot, they are significantly likelier to pick the option with those award winning games.

So as far as Sony’s big flagship productions go, the games have to be quality now. Where back in the PS3 era, when Sony’s whole approach to first party development and production was far more scattershot, titles with more muted reception such as Resistance: Fall of Man or God of War: Ascension may have made sense, they do not in context of where Sony is going today. While their smaller games such as Destruction AllStars or Concrete Genie can get by with not doing as well – their big tentpole releases don’t get that same leeway. They have to be prestige products.

Days Gone was not a prestige game. It had a fan following, it sold well, but it wasn’t a contender in the awards season, and its reception is still the worst of any big Sony first party game since The Order: 1886. There is, of course, every chance that Sony Bend may have been able to improve upon it significantly with a sequel – but to Sony, the brand itself probably doesn’t hold as much value, and Sony Bend was better off doing something new. Especially because Sony Bend’s learnings as a developer and as artists aren’t only applicable to Days Gone. No matter what they do next, they will have learned from Days Gone and will be able to improve upon it significantly with that next game. Sony Bend still gets to put out a new IP that will probably be their Horizon or Ghost of Tsushima moment – because they will have learned from Days Gone, and the feedback it got.

All of this is to say that it’s unlikely Sony actually does a sequel to the game any time soon. Of course, I can’t speak in absolutes – I’m not privy to Sony’s inside workings, and even Sony themselves can probably not say with surety whether or not they will still be unwilling to greenlight a sequel to the game in, say, ten years’ time. But honestly, looking at the graveyard of very literally dozens of fan-favorite Sony games and franchises that have received no follow-ups or even acknowledgement from Sony in years (if not decades), I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that if it doesn’t get a sequel now – which it’s all but confirmed at this point that it won’t – then it never will.

Who knows, though. A PC port of Days Gone is coming up in a few weeks, and for all we know, the game has a renaissance of reception there that makes Sony reassess its stance with respect to the game, and makes it reconsider giving it a sequel some day (or at least keeping the option open). Or maybe a huge Days Gone fan one day takes over Sony’s first party strategy, and they make sure a sequel is greenlit. The options are limitless, and it’s impossible to say with total certainty that there will never be a Days Gone sequel again. But based on the facts we have on hand, as well as a proper assessment of Sony’s priorities as a publisher and as a platform holder, the prospect of there being a Days Gone 2 any time soon – if ever – is fairly non-existent.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

If reports are to be believed, Sony’s strategy has gone through a notable change. PlayStation’s first parties are now seemingly focused exclusively on blockbuster AAA releases, with the company no longer willing to invest in smaller or more experimental games, and one of the franchises that’s suffered as a result of that change is Days Gone. It’s been reported that a sequel to Days Gone was pitched by developer SIE Bend Studio to Sony, and even though the first game had been profitable in its sales, its lukewarm critical reception led to Sony turning the pitch down.

Days Gone game director Jeff Ross – who recently left Bend Studio and is currently at Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm – recently joined God of War and Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe in a livestream for an interview. Among they many things they spoke about, Ross also commented on Days Gone 2, and while he was unable to confirm or deny several details about the development, he did share some tidbits about what Bend had planned for the game.

According to Ross, co-op was something that the developer had originally wanted to include in Days Gone 1, and though it didn’t make the cut, it was intended to be part of the sequel. As per Ross, it wouldn’t have been integrated in the main campaign, but would have been its own separate mode. A co-op experience where players build up “a clubhouse or a crew” and survive in the game’s open world was, Ross says, part of the sequel pitch that was made to Sony.

“We wanted co-op from the beginning [in Days Gone 1], but obviously you have to make concessions for what you’re not going to be able to do,” Ross said (transcribed by VGC). “It would’ve been a secondary mode if we’d have done it in the first one, or even in another one. I wouldn’t have complicated the main narrative… because that’s really what we’re good at. That was the strength of the first title, so build on that and make it better.

“But then take this world that you’ve built, and all these assets and systems, and repurpose them for some sort of similarly themed multiplayer version of this universe. So [it] would be with guys like Deacon trying to survive, building up a clubhouse or a crew. I think it would be fun to be in that world cooperatively and see what horde battles could be like.”

“It’s one of the things that we had in our pitch,” he added. “It was the idea of a shared universe with co-op play.”

According to the Bloomberg report that lifted the lid on the cancelled Days Gone sequel, SIE Bend Studio is currently working on a new IP, while also assisting Naughty Dog with a multiplayer game’s development. The report also revealed other details, such as a remake of The Last of Us being in development at Naughty Dog. Read more on that through here.

In this feature, we’ll talk about fifteen improvements we want to see in a sequel to Days Gone– some that need to be made to parts that just did not work, some to the bits that did work pretty well but still have room for improvements, and others, somewhere in between those two.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

MORE IN-DEPTH PLOTLINES ABOUT THE INFECTED

Days Gone did a surprisingly good job of making its not-zombies (they’re zombies) legitimately interesting from a narrative perspective, with plenty of engaging lore and backstory, and that’s something that we want to see the sequel delve into a little bit more. Having the story focus more on the Infected and slightly less on the conflicts between the survivors would not only set it apart from the first game, it would also provide a new perspective on the world, and more information about the Freakers isn’t something any Days Gone fan would say no to. For instance, a greater focus on the lingering humanity of the undead – or the lack thereof – and the moral quandaries that that could lead to is something that would make for great narrative material.

SIE Bend Studio’s Days Gone released earlier this year and performed pretty well. In the UK alone, it was the biggest launch exclusive for PS4 and also the biggest new IP launch (which is no small thing considering it beat Death Stranding). It even recently won the PlayStation Game of the Year for 2019 award at The Golden Joystick Awards.

What’s next though especially with the studio planning pre-production for a new title? Speaking to GamesRadar, studio director Chris Reese said the award was a great motivator to stick with the franchise. “Oh yeah, it is certainly a passion of ours, and that’s what we’ve always wanted to do. This is a world that we want to keep breathing more life into, and explore many, many different avenues. So who knows, we’ll see!”

The Golden Joystick Awards are decided by fan vote which makes it all the more impressive that Days Gone won. Reese said, “It’s awesome, because there was so much dedication and hard work from the team, and this is kind of the final payoff for that. To see the players actually engage with the game and really enjoy the passion that we put into it, to see that come back, it’s awe inspiring.”

There’s speculation that if Days Gone 2 was in development, it could release for the PlayStation 5. Given sales of the first game, it wouldn’t be strange for Sony to pour more resources into the project to garner more console sales. The PS5 is out in Holiday 2020 so there’s still some time before an official sequel announcement.

All of which makes it clear that commercially, Days Gone will do well, or at least well enough. That’s, of course, good news for Sony Bend, a small studio that nonetheless managed to put out a AAA-caliber game, albeit a less well-received one than the norm. It’s also great to see them having managed to put out a well-selling game after having spent two generations away from developing console titles. But the larger question does remain—is Days Gone a long term franchise for Sony? Should it be one? Of course, ideally, it is something that has been developed with the view of longer term sequels and franchising, but should Sony follow through on that? Or would Bend’s considerable talents be better spent working on something else, something that will be far better received, while also being high selling?

It’s tempting to say that they should be done with Days Gone by now. There’s no shortage of zombie games, or action-survival games, or open world games, or even systems driven games, on the market. Days Gone does all of this well enough, but it doesn’t particularly stand out in any regard. Even within Sony’s own lineup, we already have a zombie focused survival game (The Last of Us), open world game (Horizon), and action game (God of War). At which point, would Bend not be better suited to doing something new and unique?

Suffice it to say, it’s a convincing argument and I get it. But even with that in mind, I really want a Days Gone 2. Not because I am a particular fan of zombie settings—I’m not. I’m not much of a Days Gone fan either, I appreciate what it does well, but I could have gone my entire life not having played it, and I would never have missed it.

So why do I want a follow-up? Because within Days Gone there’s the seed for something bigger and better, the potential for something truly great. That’s been my takeaway from the game—it’s not particularly special, but given a second chance, it could be. That’s because it’s already got some amazing systemic interactivity and emergent gameplay, as well as a lot of player agency, but the things it is categorically poor at—generic design, poor storytelling and characters, and an utter lack of polish—are all things that Bend can now nail with a sequel, especially since the technical groundwork of laying down an open world is done.

Days Gone’s biggest failings, other than its story and characters, are its polish, and its average missions (as well as the generic setting). Polish is a function of time, and hopefully a sequel that doesn’t need as much work done to develop the basics has more time for the polish. Meanwhile, poor missions are a failure of game design—no, I absolutely do not want to be told in the middle of a mission that I am “leaving mission area”. It’s an open world game, let me have the freedom to approach it any way I want. The criticism the missions have gotten hopefully spur Bend to work on better missions in the sequel.

The setting is a bit harder to work with in a direct sequel, but even here, Bend can actually work on differentiating things, now that they have the basics down. Maybe they can introduce new kinds of freakers. Maybe they can move the sequel to a different location (Oregon is gorgeous, and its rendition in Days Gone is great, but visually, the setting is very alike something in The Last of Us). Even the characters could be less… dour in a sequel, and could be more “fun”, which similarly makes the world seem less bland, too.

In a lot of ways, what I am talking about is the kind of sequel to a good, but flawed, game that Assassin’s Creed II or Watch_Dogs 2 were. They both took the strong premise of the original games, built on them, differentiated, added some fun protagonists, injected personality into their worlds, and squarely addressed a lot of flaws the originals had been criticized for. Assassin’s Creed II is now regarded as one of the best games ever made, and Watch_Dogs 2 remains one of the strongest games put out by Ubisoft this generation.

Theoretically, a Days Gone 2 could be a similar improvement. A well-polished, more differentiated, improved sequel with better missions and a better story and characters, retaining the systemic strength and emergent gameplay of the current game, could truly stand out even on the PS5, were it to come out some years later. I feel like then we might even see the true potential of the concept.

Like I said, I understand why someone might feel there’s no need for a Days Gone sequel. It does nothing that some game or the other doesn’t account for already. But I do hope there’s a chance that Bend puts out a sequel—they’re very talented, and it’s surprising how much they got right at their first attempt at a modern AAA HD open world game. Given a chance to iterate and improve? Why, we might get one of the heavy hitters of the Sony stable.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.