Days Gone Developer Bend Studio Lays Off 30% Staff After Cancelled Live-Service Project

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The Studio Has Started Development On A New Project!

Story Highlight
  • Bend Studios, known best for making Days Gone, has laid off 30% of its staff following a cancelled live-service project earlier this year.
  • The developers have now begun working on a new project, but details about it are currently unknown.
  • It’s implausible for a new Days Gone title to be underway as the studio itself cancelled the sequel.

While PlayStation was best known for its approach towards cinematic single-player games, its focus has changed significantly during this console generation. Like every other publisher, PlayStation is committed to developing live-service games, which is the most disliked video game model in the industry.

Their live-service gamble didn’t work too well and backfired significantly. Among the six live-service games cancelled by Sony earlier this year, Bend Studios was developing one title. Now, the studio has decided to cut down its workforce by 30%.

Why it matters: PlayStation has some great talent under its helm, but the gaming giant has continuously failed to utilise their true potential. Back-to-back cancellations and layoffs have severely impacted the developers’ morale and deprived gamers of some great titles.

Sony's Bend studio, which canceled a live-service game earlier this year, is laying off 30% of staff today (around 40 people), Bloomberg News has learned. The studio has been spinning up a new project following the cancellation.

Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-06-10T18:12:01.815Z

This report comes from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who reported that 40 people were affected by this layoff. While Bend Studios is a small team under PlayStation, their talent can’t be undermined, having made one of the best third-person open-world games for the last-gen.

Schreier confirmed that Bluepoint Games isn’t affected by layoffs and Bend Studios is the only casualty. Bluepoint Games, known for developing remakes and remasters, is working on a new unannounced title, which seems to be progressing well.

PlayStation Layoffs
Layoffs In The Gaming Industry Are At A Historic High, And No Studio Is Prone To This Effect

Beyond this, Bend Studios has begun working on a new title, although details about it are currently unknown. They recently released a remastered version of Days Gone, and remastering games is a practice common among Sony studios to gather sufficient financial resources before commencing a new project.

It’s highly unlikely that Bend Studios will work on a new Days Gone entry. A sequel was once in development but shelved by the studio itself. However, they’re still prevalent on making ‘cool sh*t‘ as per the studio’s community manager.

What are your thoughts on this devastating news? Share your thoughts with us in the comments or at the official Tech4Gamers Forums.

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