Bend Cuts Contractors Following Live Service Game Cancelation

Abstract

Sony canceled dwell service initiatives, resulting in layoffs at Bend Studio.
Former SIE co-CEO elevated to sole CEO; Sony reevaluating dwell service video games.
Sony’s dwell service ambitions could have decreased with current cancellations.

Two weeks in the past, phrase obtained out that Sony canceled two unannounced live service projects from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Video games. This report was one thing Sony confirmed, the place a spokesperson additionally shared they’re figuring out the studios’ new initiatives to “guarantee there may be minimal enterprise affect.”

It appears the primary affect from the cancelations are being felt now, as a brand new report has surfaced stating that job cuts are underway at Bend Studio.

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Bend Studio Hit With Layoffs Attributable to Canceled Reside Service Mission

In accordance with GameDeveloper, a number of designers that had been engaged on the unannounced challenge have revealed they had been both let go, or can be laid off after February 14, 2025. Most of those builders had been a part of Bend Studio’s degree and system design groups, with one developer stating that Bend “made the choice to prematurely rescind all ongoing contracts apart from a choose few that can be employed full time.”

It is not identified how many individuals had been affected, and Sony has but to touch upon the layoffs as of press time.

With the success of Helldivers 2, it was a bit comprehensible why Sony pushed onerous for extra dwell service video games. Nonetheless, with the huge failure of Harmony that noticed its developer shutdown,and Sony’s president even commenting on how more checks were needed with a view to guarantee nothing prefer it occurs once more, it appears Sony’s dwell service mania has cooled considerably.

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Earlier at this time, Sony introduced that former Sony Interactive Leisure co-CEO Hideaki Noshino has been elevated to be the sole CEO of the division. Earlier than that, Noshino was the co-CEO together with former Guerrilla Video games boss Herman Hulst.

In an interview, former Sony PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida talked about that Hulst was the one pushing for extra dwell service initiatives at Sony. This was one thing Yoshida was in opposition to from the beginning, and his reasoning for it made a variety of sense.

Given how new Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki appears to desire a tighter leash on issues, and the current dwell service challenge cancelations, I would say Sony’s dwell service ambitions may need taken a backseat for now.

To this point, there are two identified dwell service initiatives at Sony: one primarily based on the Horizon franchise, and Bungie’s Marathon.