Sony has laid off about 30% of the staff at Bend Studio, the first-party developer of the PlayStation 4 open-world game Days Gone. The publisher confirmed the layoffs in a statement to GameSpot.
According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, about 40 people were laid off from the studio.
In its statement, Sony also confirmed that Bend Studio had been working on a live-service game earlier in the year, but that game has been canceled and the studio is moving on to a new, unnamed project.
“Earlier this year, Bend Studio wrapped development on a live-service concept,” the statement reads. “After careful consideration, we chose not to move forward with it. As the team shifts focus to its next project, we’ve made strategic changes to better position the studio for long-term success. As part of this transition, a workforce reduction has taken place at the studio. This decision was not made lightly, and we are extremely grateful for the meaningful contributions of all those impacted. Bend Studio has been a valued part of PlayStation Studios for decades, and we remain confident in its future and creative direction.”
Sony has canceled multiple games since it announced a focus on developing live-service concepts following its acquisition of Destiny 2 developer Bungie in 2022. Originally, the publisher said it intended to launch 12 live-service games by 2025, but in 2023 narrowed that figure to just six. The Bend layoffs are just the latest of many Sony has made in recent years, including the closing of Firewalk Studios after the launch of live-service first-person shooter Concord and layoffs at Bungie following its acquisition and the release of Destiny 2’s last major expansion, The Final Shape.
Also among recent closures was Sony’s London Studio and Deviation Games, both shuttered in 2024. The latter studio was closed before it could ship its first game, after being founded by Call of Duty veterans Dave Anthony and Jason Blundell in 2020. Both studios were reportedly working on games that were canceled in their closures.
In addition to Bend’s canceled game, Sony reportedly canceled a live-service God of War title, and developer Naughty Dog canceled The Last of Us Online, a new multiplayer addition to the popular single-player series.
Sony has also seen some success in the live-service arena, particularly with Helldivers 2 from developer Arrowhead Games, which has sold more than 12 million copies since its 2024 release.
