Days Gone director speaks up after Sony cancels Bend Studio game

After the cancellation of Bend Studio’s recent live-service project, the director of Days Gone, John Garvin showed his empathy for the developers. Despite quitting the studio earlier in 2020 due to inner issues around Days Gone part 2, he still feels for the developers who work in Bend Studio. 

Recently, PlayStation canceled two of its upcoming live-service games from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games. Most PlayStation fans were specifically disheartened by the cancellation of Bend Studio’s project.

Garvin mentioned that Bend Studio developers had little say in the cancellation

True … doesn’t make it suck less for the devs who have no choice

— John Garvin (@John_Garvin) January 17, 2025

Under a different thread, Garvin added a response to a tweet from a PlayStation community member, mentioning that the “devs … have no choice.”

Based on this, it appears that Garvin thinks that Sony pulled the rug and ended the development of the live-service game, and not the developers themselves. It is also possible that Bend Studio will return to developing single-player games, including a sequel for Days Gone.

Garvin empathizes with the developers despite popular opinion on live-service games

The studio had released Days Gone in 2019. Following the release, inner turmoil between the leadership was reported over a sequel of the game. This resulted in John Garven and Jeff Ross, the two directors, leaving the studio. The company then started working on another IP.

Not much information was revealed about the original project other than the fact that it would use the open-world system of Days Gone along with multiplayer elements. Based on leaks of a UI concept from December 2024, it appeared that the game would be a live-service military shooter.

After the cancellation of the project, John Garvin showed sympathy to the staff of the studio that was affected by the decisions. He mentioned, “this is a time for empathy” despite the different opinions that people hold about live-service games, and wished good for Bend Studio.

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