PlayStation is traditionally known for its high-quality AAA single-player games, but in recent years the company has made a concerted effort to expand into the live service space. Back in 2022, Sony executive Hiroki Totoki told investors that PlayStation had plans to release more than 10 live service games by March 2026. This was undoubtedly an incredibly difficult goal to achieve, especially considering that there were no studios actually within the PlayStation umbrella that had experience with live service titles at the time. The decision to release so many GAAS games in such a short period of time also caused some controversy, as many feared that it would lead to oversaturation of the gaming market. Nevertheless, Sony continued its efforts.
So far, the results of PlayStation's live service initiative have not been great, to say the least. Although Sony released the hugely successful multiplayer shooter Helldivers 2 At the beginning of last year, almost every other attempt in this area ended badly. PlayStation launched this a few months ago Guardians of the GalaxyHero shooter style Concordwhich sold so terribly that it was canceled just weeks after its debut. Several other GAAS titles have now been canceled outright. Sony has canceled a handful of live service games from Naughty Dog, Firesprite and Insomniac and most recently canceled projects from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games.

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Bend Studio may have suffered the most from Sony's live service pivot
Sony has canceled two live service projects from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Sony had canceled two unannounced live service games that were in development at its first-party studios. One of them was a military rifleman Over Creator Bend Studio, and the other was a GAAS God of war Game of Demon souls (2020) Developer Bluepoint Games. Sony told Bloomberg, according to the report, that these two games have been discontinued “following a recent review.” The company said it was working with Bend and Bluepoint to determine their next projects, noting that the studios would not close despite these cancellations.
While it is great that Bend Studio and Bluepoint remain open, the damage done to them cannot be easily repaired, especially in the case of Bend. Back then, Bend Studio released games at a fairly consistent pace from the start Siphon filter games too Unexplored Spin-offs. However, the company has launched virtually nothing recently. The most recent game that Bend Studio released was the zombie action-adventure title Overwhich was released on PS4 in 2019. Yes, 2019 might not sound that far away at first, but it was almost six years ago.
Many of Bend Studio's projects have reportedly been put on hold in recent years
It's no secret that game development is taking a lot longer than it used to, but Bend Studio's case is exceptionally unusual. Most game developers can usually release a big budget AAA game in 4-5 years, but Bend Studio has not only released 0 games in 6 years, but they haven't announced anything yet. Certainly some people think that if Bend Studio had been developing a live service game for half a decade, it would have shown something by now. Well, according to previous reports, Bend Studio actually had other projects in the works, but those too were scrapped.
In 2021, some insiders claimed that Sony canceled an unannounced date Unexplored game and a Over Sequels, both of which were in development at Bend Studio. It was said that these titles were put on hold in favor of creating a new IP. However, as is now known, this new IP has also been deleted. If all of this is true, then Bend Studio has really been going through a tough time lately. It must be heartbreaking for the company's employees that none of the projects they have been working on for more than 5 years will see the light of day. As things stand, Bend Studio may not release a single game for the entire PlayStation 5 generation.

Bend Studio
- Founding date
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00.00.1993
- headquarters
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Bend, OR 97702, United States
- parent company
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Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Studios
- Known for
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Bubbly 3D