Days Gone 2 was almost a thing, says a new report. Sony Bend, the studio behind zombie game Days Gone pitched a sequel to Sony, but it was rejected as the first game was not quite the critical darling Sony had hoped. It appears that, at least for the time being, Sony’s direction as a studio means this would-be franchise is going nowhere.
The news comes from a Bloomberg report, which alleges that Sony Bend, the studio behind the original game, pitched a sequel after Days Gone was released. The issue with Days Gone doesn’t appear to be monetary success, but rather that it garnered mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release. According to the Bloomberg report: “Although the first game had been profitable, its development had been lengthy and critical reception was mixed, so a Days Gone 2 wasn’t seen as a viable option.”
After this, Sony Bend was split into teams, to work on a new Uncharted game and to assist Naughty Dog with development on a multiplayer title. The employees asked to be taken off the project, and they’re now reportedly working on a new game that’ll be part of a new franchise. Former Sony Bend director Jeff Ross responded on Twitter by saying he appreciated the support, but wasn’t able to comment one way or another about the report.
The reasoning for rejecting Days Gone 2 appears to be that Sony wants to pursue a very particular kind of game, and it’s not “smaller games that are only successful in Japan” says the report. The Bloomberg report calls this Sony’s “obsession With blockbusters” and a “fixation on teams that churn out hits” with Naughty Dog presumably being one of its stars. By the way, no word on whether the new Uncharted game is still in development at the time of this writing.
Source: Bloomberg
