Sony Interactive Entertainment's Bend Studio looks to have a new game in development more than six years after the launch of Days Gone. The team behind the 2019 action-adventure survival horror hit Days Gone now appears to be seeking an experienced creative director to head up an unnamed game project.
Getting its start in the early '90s, the development studio's first couple of years were spent putting out games for PCs and Apple computers, like Dell Crossword Puzzles and Live Action Football. Bend Studio hit its stride after it started developing games for the original PlayStation in 1996, being acquired by Sony in 2000. The studio's most recent original game, Days Gone, was released in 2019, but it's recently seen a resurgence in popularity after the launch of Days Gone Remastered for PlayStation 5 this past April.
Days Gone Remastered is Bittersweet for the Franchise
Days Gone Remastered shows that there is still some life in Bend Studio's latest IP, but its announcement is still a bit of a disappointment.
Sony's Bend Studio May Have a New Game in the Works
A recently discovered post from PlayStation on hiring platform Greenhouse seeks a creative director for the purpose of "crafting our next title," which it also states is already in development with Bend Studio. Not much information about what this project entails can be gleaned from the job listing's wording, though one of the requirements for applicants states that they must possess experience in the development and design of multiplayer games, which is probably a pretty good indicator that the studio's next game will be a multiplayer entry. Those who know Bend Studio for Days Gone or its PlayStation Vita entries in the Uncharted series may not think of the studio as multiplayer-friendly, but multiple entries in its Syphon Filter franchise have incorporated multiplayer gameplay.
The possibility of a new game could be a positive sign that things are looking up for the development studio. In line with the ongoing, industry-wide trend of massive layoffs and studio closures that seemed to come to a peak over the summer, Bend Studio was hit with its own layoffs in June. This restructuring move reportedly resulted in the termination of about 40 employees, which accounted for roughly 30 percent of the studio's total workforce.
In addition to that bit of bad news, a rumor from July stated that Bend Studio had canceled a number of unannounced games. Following the layoffs, a former employee's LinkedIn page referenced that they had worked on "Multiple canceled/unannounced projects," including dedicating development time to open world events, missions, puzzles, and systems. Prior to that report, news from January stated that PlayStation had canceled two live-service games in development, one of which was reportedly headed up by Bend Studio.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 75%
- Released
- April 25, 2025
- ESRB
- M For Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Bend Studio
- Publisher(s)
- PlayStation Studios
