It wouldn't be surprising if they just left to pursue other things. People do it all the time. There isn't any weird reason to suggest a shakeup happening. Days Gone was really successful and I can't wait to see what Bend studio does next.
John Garvin and Jeff Ross, longtime creative and game directors at Sony Bend Studio, have both departed the company
- Thread starter ToddBonzalez
- Start date
Thanks for making a great game, loved Days Gone. Hoping for a sequel and something new from them. With old talent leaving, hopefully people can stop begging for Syphon filter.
I've enjoyed both of their work for literally decades.
Kudos, and I hope we hear more from them.
Kudos, and I hope we hear more from them.
That this was said multiple times already apparently isn't enough it seems.
People will join and leave studios all the time. Even studio leads, artists, programmers, musicians, and whoever else.
One or two folks leaving a large group comprised of over 130 employees does not mean the studio is at risk of closure, some corporate shake up, or any other worst case scenario narrative people want to create.
That sucks. I loved Days Gone and these two were really passionate in the interviews. I am especially wondering what this means for the sequel as Garvin was the writer for the game. Hopefully whoever takes up the role is able to give us a worthy sequel.
I wish both the best of luck.
I wish both the best of luck.
I don't know for sure if Days Gone 2 would need a whole new LORE as these images hint. Unless it's a complete reboot.
My tinfoil hat says that Days Gone 2 wasn't aproved and they didn't want to start from scratch on a new big project.
Zero evidence of this.
Zero evidence of this.
Sad to hear, those two are pretty much the soul of the company and were very passionate about gaming and Days Gone.
Will be interesting to see the next generation of Sony Bend, and hopefully they are working on Days Gone 2
Will be interesting to see the next generation of Sony Bend, and hopefully they are working on Days Gone 2
I wouldn't be surprised if he went to Iron Galaxy. They've been hiring a lot recently (including DeeJ), and I feel like I saw something about them looking to scale up and work on more original games/IP rather than be primarily a support studio. And of course Adam Boyes is CEO there, don't know if they were close at all while at PS.
If I'm Jim Ryan I ask Newman (TLoU Pt. II game director) if he would like to helm the studio or remain at ND. I think he'd want the chance to be a top dog. And to those saying DG2 is a certainty, nobody knows. Sony might have some mandate of new IPs reaching a certain number on aggregate reviews score to be greenlit for series production. They moved on from The Order despite it selling very well.
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Maybe Sony wants record breaking games or critically acclaimed or something, or maybe it wasn' that. I don't know, I'm guessing because they always expressed how much they loved the game and it was very personal to them.
I don't think Bend will continue with it without them but I'm just thinking out loud.
It's understandable that people move on. But also understandable for people to question DaysGone 2 (not the studio itself) being in trouble seeing as Garvin pretty much wrote DG solo.
The old crew was so done with Syphon Filter they specifically chose to shoot Gabe so Sony wouldn't make them do another sequel
I don't buy that Sony asked them not to make the sequel but them not working on DG2 is something that I don't know how to feel about.
I want a sequel at least because the first game ended on a teaser that sound way too awesome not to happen. I really hope whoever writes the sequel does it justice.
I would say this. It looks like Bend is going away... Ross was the face of the studio.
Amy could probably pick right off from Garvin's work and the game would be fine. She is an awesome writer.
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She has been at Skydance for a year or two working on VR stuff. Doubt she'd just bounce before releasing something.
Wow I forgot she started working at Skydance.
In that case I don't know who could continue the story.
Reading John's tweet thread, that sounds like a man who is just burnt out and looking for a break. Specially with him referencing his two games prior to DG being his favorite. It takes a lot to scale up from doing psp games to a full blown console title spanning many years.
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Only thing that strikes me as odd is why they decided to post these in concert with one another.
so the real question is will they eventually come out of retirement to do a new bubsy game. they can't leave that money on the table for long
A Company comprised of over 130 people is not going away because one of the faces of the company left.
Why do we do this again and again and again. Folks leave and join companies all the time, during all stages of development active or not.
Everytime without fail, whether it's the company hiring for concept artist, or programming lead, environment designer, or some notable named individual leaving said company, folks always, everytime, without fail continuously and erroneously jump to the conclusion there some sort of company shake up, the studio's at risk, the actual game development is troubled, or some other worst case scenario.
You would think being an enthusiast forum, people would learn from this after a period of time.
Why do we do this again and again and again. Folks leave and join companies all the time, during all stages of development active or not.
Everytime without fail, whether it's the company hiring for concept artist, or programming lead, environment designer, or some notable named individual leaving said company, folks always, everytime, without fail continuously and erroneously jump to the conclusion there some sort of company shake up, the studio's at risk, the actual game development is troubled, or some other worst case scenario.
You would think being an enthusiast forum, people would learn from this after a period of time.
Makes sense, Days Gone Seemed unecessary and not that good.Seems like Bend are making a new IP:
I do think it points to a new I.P, especially after the Linkednl profiles pointing to that. Seems the most likely time to call it for a director role, without disrupting much, though even if Days Gone 2 same would apply, so more just due to the latter still.
Knowing nothing about anything John Garvin's departure sounds personal and not business/creative related.
On Bend, I'd be so much more excited for a new I.P. than for a Days Gone sequel.
On Bend, I'd be so much more excited for a new I.P. than for a Days Gone sequel.
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I really dug Days Gone even though there was clearly room for improvement. I'm still hoping for a sequel because I think a more polished version of those gameplay ideas could be something special. Guess we will see.
Damn, wish them all the best though with whatever they do next.
Also, calm down people, Bend isn't going anywhere.
Also, calm down people, Bend isn't going anywhere.
Bend Studio has a new office and is doing fine. They're going nowhere.
Good.
The order didnt sell very well, it just broke even or something along the lines.
Maybe Garvin thought that the announcement of Ross' departure would reveal his own and wanted to confirm it in his own words, hence the twitter thread, rather than have other people speculate on it.