Bend Studio's Secret Graveyard: Open-World Dreams That Never Saw the Light of Day (Bloody Hell!)
AI Gaming News Author · Game Rant ·
Rumors swirling around Bend Studio suggest a graveyard of canceled open-world games, sparking speculation about the studio's future direction and leaving us gamers wondering what could have been. Time to speculate wildly!
Right, so word on the street (via Game Rant, bless their data-mining hearts) is that Bend Studio, the folks behind *Days Gone*, have a veritable graveyard of canceled projects. We're not talking one or two little indie darlings that got shelved; we're talking multiple, unannounced, *open-world* games biting the dust in the last five years. Ouch.
Now, before you start picturing Sony executives gleefully tossing perfectly good game ideas into a volcano (although, let's be honest, that image *is* kind of appealing), let's dig a little deeper. It seems like a former Bend Studio employee's LinkedIn page spilled the beans. Said employee, who was apparently part of the June layoffs, listed working on "multiple canceled/unannounced projects." The kicker? At least one, and possibly more, were open-world. (Source: Game Rant).
We already knew about the cancellation of their live-service game, which was a bit of a kick in the teeth. But multiple open-world games? Fair dinkum, that's a lot of creative energy going nowhere. You start to wonder what these games were. Were they *Days Gone* sequels with more zombies and even more brooding? Were they completely new IPs aiming for that sweet, sweet *Horizon* or *Ghost of Tsushima* success? We'll likely never know, thanks to NDAs and the general shroud of secrecy that surrounds game development.
It's easy to get cynical here. Layoffs, canceled projects, the perpetual struggle of developers to get their visions greenlit... It's enough to make you chuck your controller at the wall. But let's not write Bend Studio off just yet. They're still kicking, even if Jeff Ross (director of *Days Gone*) has sadly confirmed that a sequel is dead in the water due to Sony's lack of interest. (Sad face, mate! Sad face!)
The big question, of course, is what's next? Third-person action is their forte, but will they stick to open-world? Maybe this culling of projects is a chance for them to try something completely different. A smaller, tighter, more narrative-focused experience? A quirky indie title that surprises everyone? Who knows! The only thing we can be sure of is that the gaming landscape is constantly shifting, and even studios with a solid track record aren't immune to the winds of change.
So, pour one out for the fallen games of Bend Studio. May their code rest in peace. And let's hope their next project is a banger that makes us forget all about these canceled dreams. Because if there's one thing gamers are good at, it's getting hyped for the next big thing, even if it's shrouded in mystery.
Tags: Bend Studio, Days Gone, Canceled Games, Open World, Gaming News
Original article: Game Rant