Mass Layoff At Days Gone Studio After Live Service Cancelation

Days Gone maker Bend Studio has been hit by layoffs. Roughly a 3rd of the first-party PlayStation staff was lower following the current cancelation of an unannounced dwell service mission, however Sony confirmed the studio is engaged on a brand new mission now and it stays “assured in its future and artistic course.”

“Earlier this yr, Bend Studio wrapped growth on a dwell service idea. After cautious consideration, we selected to not transfer ahead with it,” a spokesperson for Sony confirmed to Kotaku in an e mail. “Because the staff shifts focus to its subsequent mission, we’ve made strategic modifications to raised place the studio for long-term success. As a part of this transition, a workforce discount has taken place on the studio. This determination was not made frivolously, and we’re extraordinarily grateful for the significant contributions of all these impacted. Bend Studio has been a valued a part of PlayStation Studios for many years, and we stay assured in its future and artistic course.”

About 40 builders on the Oregon-based studio have been laid at this time, as first reported by Bloomberg. The mission they have been beforehand engaged on was canceled earlier this yr amid a purge of some inner dwell service initiatives, including an online God of War spin-off at Bluepoint Games. “Bend Studio laid off a bunch of individuals at this time,” senior animator Robert Morrison posted on X. “I used to be part of the layoffs. I did my finest. Hopefully I can discover a new staff to hitch.”

Greatest recognized for the Syphon Filter espionage video games within the PS1 and PS2 eras, Bend Studio later moved on to growing handheld ports of first-party franchises like Resistance and Uncharted earlier than finally making 2019’s open world zombie blockbuster Days Gone. The sport didn’t evaluation as extremely as some PlayStation exclusives however nonetheless offered properly.

Whereas followers pined for a sequel, the studio hasn’t launched a recreation since. Days Gone obtained a PS5 model earlier this yr however has in any other case laid dormant as Bend Studio reportedly labored on a brand new dwell service IP. Leaked images made it seem just like the now canceled recreation was a web-based multiplayer loot shooter of kinds, although no official particulars concerning the mission have been ever shared publicly.

The Bend Studio cuts are the most recent self-inflicted wound of a PS5 technology dwell service pivot that’s left Sony conspicuously brief on massive first-party blockbusters. Dwell service spin-offs of Twisted Metallic and The Final of Us have been additionally canceled, whereas Harmony’s launch went so poorly the corporate refunded the sport and shutdown the studio behind it which had acquired only a couple years prior.

One other upcoming on-line shooter, Fairgame$, was recently delayed according to Bloomberg after it obtained adverse suggestions from exterior testing. That studio’s head, Jade Raymond, departed across the identical time.

Replace 6/10/2025 5:06 p.m. ET: Added assertion from Sony.

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