Gabriel Stanford-ReisingerDays Gone developer Bend Studio is staffing up for some sort of AAA live service game, as it seems Sony still wants in that market. This comes after the studio said it was cooking something up seemingly related to a new IP.
On a job listing (thanks, Eurogamer), Bend is seeking someone to act as its lead project manager, and part of the requirements includes experience with “AAA live-service games.” The listing doesn’t give much away outside of a broad descriptor, though. In the case of this being the project it was talking about back in 2022, then it’ll at least foster some of the mechanics of its 2019 action game with a multiplayer open world.
We aren’t that surprised that it’s being pushed into the live service market, considering the big investments Sony wants to push into the medium. That said, it seems like it isn’t sure where to go with it, as The Last of Us Online was canned after years of promises, Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Great Web was given the boot, Deviation Games, which working on a live service game for Sony, was shuttered alongside London Studio, which was also working on a live service game for Sony, during the 900-person bout of layoffs, and the rumored Twisted Metal online game getting canned, too.
Needless to say, Sony’s not getting into the market to easily.
Perhaps the studio is best-known for the mixed bag that was Days Gone, the zombie apocalypse game that fostered a cult following and showcased a rather entitled lead.
What do you think? Do you think Bend will do “AAA live service” right?