Many PlayStation studios are having a tough time right now, but it’s the ongoing mugging of Bend Studios, the makers of Days Gone, that I feel worst about. According to a new report, the team is about to be hit by layoffs yet again.
That’s according to journalist Jason Schreier who has apparently learned that the team will be getting rid of around 40 employees, totally about 30% of the studios current workforce.
He confirms that the team has been working on a new project following the cancellation of a live-service title Bend was previously working on.
Bend Studios hasn’t released a game since Days Gone in 2019. Despite selling well and getting a solid reception, Sony did not greenlight a sequel. However, they did like it enough to give it the remaster treatment. Mixed messages there, Sony.
After a while, Bend was put onto live-service duty, but with that game gone and Bend presumably only in the earliest stages of getting a new project off the ground it could be another 4-6 years before they release a game, given today’s typical development time for triple-A titles.