Unfortunate controversies have stirred around developer Bend Studio and the alleged success or failure of Days Gone. Though that discourse happened some time ago, it seems as if the critical reception to Days Gone, as well as Sony’s perception of its sales, has had some effect on the developer and what it would be slated to work on next.
Rumors have since suggested that Bend could be working on a PS5-exclusive Men in Black game; further, a petition for a Days Gone sequel reached a milestone of 150,000 signatures back in February and is now at over 170,000 signatures. The only official clarification has come from Hermen Hulst last year, stating that Bend’s next game will be a new IP, but that leaves a ton of room for speculation still. Now, while fans have been relatively in the dark with regard to what Bend’s next move is as a developer, it appears as if rebranding is in the works.
Bend has recently shared on social media that it will be hosting a “special live stream” on Twitch in honor of unveiling its new studio logo. Rather, no news about an upcoming game or other such information is teased. The reveal of a new logo in a livestream seems like a rather small announcement that could have potentially been dropped otherwise, but Bend hosts livestreams each week, and thus it makes sense to unveil it there. Bend may be rebranding structurally with a new logo being the first of many changes to the studio that fans can look forward to in tomorrow’s livestream at 12 PM PT.
Either way, fans should temper their expectations for any ulterior motives behind its new logo reveal. Bend has recently clarified that there will be no game announcement during the livestream and that it will simply be an opportunity for the developers to chat and share the new logo. This may come as a disappointment to some fans who are eager to hear about what Bend has been up to since Days Gone. But even if there is no new game announced or teased tomorrow, fans will hopefully hear news about it in the near future when Bend's next title is indeed ready to be shared.
Until then, if fans wish to hear more about the logo and maybe even hear the developers chat about its inspirations, they can tune into Bend's livestream tomorrow. Of course, if Bend is ready to rebrand itself, a new game announcement may not be far off.
Depending on how far along it is, Bend's next game could have a chance to be shown at this week's Summer Game Fest kickoff, even if the show will primarily focus on previously announced games. Still, a new logo may not insinuate anything else about what the developer has been up to, and it may not have any implication of studio-wide rebranding after all.