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[Mattyp]

Breaking here…

Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social)

BREAKING: PlayStation has canceled two more live-service games, from subsidiaries Bend and Bluepoint, Bloomberg has learned. Fans have long wondered what Bluepoint has been working on for the last couple of years. I can report it was a live-service God of War game...

bsky.app

Sony Group Corp.’s PlayStation has canceled previously unannounced games at two of its top subsidiaries, the company said Thursday.

The games, at Oregon-based Bend Studio and Texas-based Bluepoint Games, were both “live service” projects designed to draw recurring revenue from players.

A company spokesperson confirmed the cancellations. In a statement, the spokesperson said the two games were canceled “following a recent review” and that PlayStation will continue making both online and single-player games.

Neither studio will be shuttered. “Bend and Bluepoint are highly accomplished teams who are valued members of the PlayStation Studios family, and we are working closely with each studio to determine what are the next projects,” the spokesperson said.

Over the last few years, PlayStation has invested big in live-service games, which are typically multiplayer games with microtransactions and other ways to get money out of players for months and years after they launch. These games are risky ventures, but can be lucrative when they’re successful.

For Sony, the strategy has led to one hit in 2024’s Helldivers II and several flops including Concord, which was removed from sale less than two weeks after it was released. The company has also canceled several other live-service games over the last few years, including one based on Spider-Man, Bloomberg has reported.

Sony didn’t say if the cancellations will lead to job cuts. In a memo to staff reviewed by Bloomberg, the company said it’s “working closely with Bend and Bluepoint to determine what are the next projects and plan to do everything we can to ensure there is minimal business impact.”

The last two years have been difficult for the video game industry, which has seen tens of thousands lose their jobs in the wake of bad bets and slower growth.

Sony Cancels Two More PlayStation Projects

The company told subsidiaries Bend and Bluepoint it will work with them to determine their next steps and minimize job losses

www.bloomberg.com

 

[SEGAvangelist]

 

[FalsettoVibe]

The GaaS push was a real misstep.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Thanks Hermen! Oh well at least we’re still getting Fairgame$ and Horizon online right?

 

[R3TRO]

God of War live service?

They are really out of touch…

 

[Rush2112]

Blue point was not working on bloodborne. i’m glad they failed.

 

[ResilientBanana]

All those games woke agendas. But also creating a catalog of games with live services that didn’t need them. Stop treating some of your games as a milk factory.

 

[Lokaum D+]

this is the worst Playstation generation i've seen, even PS3 recovered from its launch, i cant see PS5 doing the same. its past time for Hermen to step down

 

[bundylove]

Hey yoshida.

How many remakes do we need to buy to compensate for this waste?????

Fuck you

 

[diffusionx]

and yet FairGame% still exist?

 

[IAmRei]

i dont have any wildest dream to think that GoW can be GAAS...

 

[Hohenheim]

What a fuckin waste!
God of War live service game.. damn, not in my wildest imagination had I thought they were working on something so incredible lame.

 

[Ulysses 31]

 

[Dacvak]

Damn, it’s wild that a 400 million dollar failure would influence their development goals.

 

[Danjin44]

I personally have no interest in Sony’s western games this gen.

 

[envyzeal]

Jesus fucking christ

 

[TrebleShot]

Oh dear what a waste of time and money

 

[DR3AM]

What a waste for Bluepoint.

 

[Yoboman]

Hulst is a literal cancer

How did he ever think putting a remake studio on a GOW live service was a good idea?

Bring back the days Sony first party made passion projects

 

[Traxtech]

God of war live service... Wtf

 

[NuclearDiarrhea]

Two great studios have wasted almost an entire generation on this GAAS shit. Embarrassing. Jim Ryan is a retard and so is Hermen Hulst.

 

[viveks86]

A GoW GaaS? What in Asgard’s name would that have looked like?

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Damn, it’s wild that a 400 million dollar failure would influence their development goals.

No one can really criticize the cancellations, but you can criticize the greenlighting of the games in the first place. Jim's legacy sure is grand.

 

[bitbydeath]

On the bright side Bend can now get back to work on Days Gone 2!

 

[SEGAvangelist]

A GoW GaaS? What in Asgard’s name would that have looked like?

Androgenous Vikings with green hair and pierced septums.

 

[Kacho]

When it rains it pours

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

a live-service God of War game.

 

[diffusionx]

Androgenous Vikings with green hair and pierced septums.

pretty sure we got that stuff in Ragnarok

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

 

[Tajaz2426]

Less macrotransactions, battle passes, subscriptions, lot boxes, etc are better for me. I hope they close both studios and those poor people lose their jobs so I may have less games with storefronts in the future.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

What the fuck GOW live service game? Sony has fucking lost it.

 

[Banjo64]

A live service God of War game - they must be taking the piss

 

[March Climber]

OP trying to bait more responses by removing the words 'live service' from the title.

 

[Shaki12345]

God of War live service?

They are really out of touch…

No, they're not. If they were out of touch they wouldn't have cancelled it. They were out of touch when they greenlit it. Even Sony can learn from their mistakes.

 

[Roufianos]

Are you fucking kidding me? You had Bluepoint, who don't make original games, developing the most difficult type of game to make? Fucking hacks run Sony.

 

[diffusionx]

So when everyone thought Bluepoint's "new game" was Demon Souls 2 or Bloodborne 2... they were working on GAAS God of War? LOL what the fuck.

So it's just four years wasted? I don't think they're big enough to have multiple teams, and they could have been working on remakes or DS2/BB2...

 

[StreetsofBeige]

There goes another 2.

When Sony promoted years ago they had a shit ton of GAAS games (I think it was 12 which were all supposed to be released by 2025), lots of have cancelled already.

But does anyone remember if a Bend and Bluepoint GAAS game were part of the 12 at the time? Or are these 2 games on top of the 12?

 

[phant0m]

Thanks Hermen! Oh well at least we’re still getting Fairgame$ and Horizon online right?

Wasn’t Jim Ryan the main pusher of GaaS?

All that was in the oven long before Hermen was top dog

 

[hinch7]

GoW GaaS. I can already tell that was going to be a bomba. The games aren't even all that popular on PC.

Should've asked From if they wanted to do another colab for a Souls 1 Remake.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

pretty sure we got that stuff in Ragnarok

Touché!

 

[balls of snow]

Wow. Waiting all that time for Bluepoint and it was a God of War gaas game. Holy shit.

Playstation

Xbox is deader than dead but at least ms studios are pumping out the games. And most importantly all are singleplayer or have a strong sp component ( yep even cod blops 6) at least for 2024 -2025. Crazy.

 

[owandeseis]

God of war live service game ROFL.

Bend Studio's game situation sucks tho, does this mean their next game is still ways off?

 

[semiconscious]

God of War live service?

They are really out of touch…

you're too kind. they're full-on delusional...

 

[J3nga]

They concorded the projects

 

[Lux77]

GOW Gass lel

 

[viveks86]

Hulst is a literal cancer

How did he ever think putting a remake studio on a GOW live service was a good idea?

Bring back the days Sony first party made passion projects

This is Jim’s legacy. If anything, Hermen is cleaning it up. I actually commend the guy for having the balls to make these tough decisions while there is still time, instead of running PlayStation into the ground. Hermen’s only mistake so far is putting way too much weight into the Horizon IP. Given it’s from GG, even that bias is understandable.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Thread title should include the GaaS God of War game in it.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

scientists call this phenomenon:

THE CONCORD EFFECT

 

[Sooner]

Thanks for going third-party Microsoft to fill in the gaps while Sony was going through this dumb live service phase.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

A live service GOW game. Talk about reaching for the stars at anything that can be pegged GAAS. LOLOL