First up, the bad news: Bend Studio is not working on a Days Gone sequel. This was all but confirmed at this point. However, even after the earlier reports, many still had high hopes that Sony and Bend Studio will change their minds. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case and Days Gone’s story won’t see a proper conclusion anytime soon. At least, not from Bend Studio. Now, for the good news. Even if Bend Studio is not working on a sequel to Days Gone, the studio is working on a “very exciting new IP” that will reportedly make use of the “deep open-world systems” that the studio developed and used for Days Gone. The statement comes from Hermen Hulst, the PlayStation Studios head, in a recent interview.
What Is Bend Studio’s New IP?
Outside of giving small hints about Bend Studio’s next project and saying that the studio was “very passionate” about it, Hulst didn’t offer more specification information. However, as we’ve mentioned earlier, this isn’t news to those who’ve been following the scene closely lately. It’s all but confirmed at this point that Bend Studio failed to pitch a Days Gone sequel and was originally slated to work on an Uncharted spin-off title. Now that parts of the April report from Bloomberg have been confirmed, we can finally start looking forward to what Bend Studio will work on next. Bend Studio is one of Sony’s longest-tenured first-party studios. Before working on Days Gone, the Oregon-based studio made a name for itself via the Syphon Filter series, which we included in our list of Sony first-party titles that we hope will get a remake on the PS5. Hulst’s statement is bittersweet for those who’ve been hoping for a Days Gone sequel. The action-adventure zombie title was a commercial success on the PS4 when it was launched and has sold well on the PC. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t such a hit with critics. Many believed that the game lacked any substance despite being fun to play. Not to mention, as per those in leadership roles over in Sony, Days Gone took too long to develop and finish. With that said, there’s no doubt that whatever Bend Studio is working on right now will be just as good if not better than Days Gone. Here’s to hoping that Bend Studio and PlayStation Studios decide to revisit Days Gone in the future.
