Bend Studio Trims Workforce for New Project Phase

Sony-owned studio Bend Studio, the developer behind Days Gone, has laid off an unspecified number of employees.

In a brief social media statement, the studio explained these layoffs were necessary while "transitioning to its next project," acknowledging it's "a difficult time for our team."

"Today, we bid farewell to several highly talented colleagues as we shift focus to our next project," the statement began. "We are profoundly grateful for their contributions, which have helped define who we are, and their influence will remain part of our legacy.

"This is a challenging period for our team, but we hold the deepest respect for everyone who brought us this far. Moving ahead, we are dedicated to shaping Bend Studio's future with creativity, passion, and innovation in the games we develop."

Bend Studio did not elaborate on its upcoming project or the number of affected employees. However, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported approximately 30% of the team—believed to be around 40 individuals—were laid off. When questioned whether this indicated the studio might close soon, Schreier suggested it's "unlikely" management would cut 40 staff if they weren't striving to keep operations running.

These layoffs follow Sony's recent cancellation of two unannounced live-service games in development at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games. Bluepoint's canceled title was reportedly a live-service God of War installment. While the nature of Bend Studio's canceled live-service project remains undisclosed, the studio's community manager previously affirmed the team's intention to "create exciting new content." Bend Studio's last major release was 2019's Days Gone for PlayStation 4, which later launched on PC in 2021.

This development represents another instance in a series of industry-wide cutbacks and workforce reductions. Just days earlier, Outriders developer People Can Fly shared a similar announcement, citing project cancellations as the reason for their layoffs.