Bend Studio has been enjoying a resurgence of late. The studio's latest game, Days Gone, was released on PC last year and has gained a cult following among fans. A vocal fanbase has even been petitioning for a sequel to be greenlit by Sony.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, the team at Bend Studio used their announcement of a rebrand as an opportunity to celebrate nearly 30 years of making video games. The post took a look back at the company's three decades, starting with the team’s first game - Syphon Filter for the original PlayStation.
After refreshing gamers on the studio’s back catalog, which includes games such as Uncharted Golden Abyss and Resistance: Retribution, the team at Bend looked to the future and what’s next for them. The next game from the Days Gone developers will be a completely fresh open-world IP. The title will have a multiplayer element at its core and utilize systems used in the 2019 zombie survival game. This information ties into the information Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, had revealed last year, however, this is the first official confirmation of the game directly from Bend. There is currently no confirmed timetable for when the game will hit the shelves.
The team has also stressed that while some elements may make the jump to the new game, players will be tackling a whole new world and story. What elements and systems are used in this new game are still up for debate. In the past, there have been unsuccessful pitches for a Days Gone sequel that had fallen by the wayside, so it is possible that some of those ideas have made their way to the new title.
Using the survival game as a basis for the next game will likely excite fans. When the survival game joined the PlayStation Plus lineup in 2021, players took to social media to share their appreciation for Days Gone and the studio behind it, with many calling it an underrated gem.
Bend is slowly becoming a fan-favorite developer for Sony’s PlayStation studios. While this new title has been teased for the last year, it is expected that the game has been in development for much longer than this. It is unlikely that fans will see a full reveal or any further announcements from Bend as the Summer Games Fest gets underway this week. However, the team at Bend Studio seems confident enough to start teasing players as they build up to a full reveal.
Source: PlayStation Blog