Released in April 2019, Days Gone had a debut on PlayStation 4 marked by bugs and with little innovative gameplay. Over time, the game improved with updates, but according to Jeff Ross, who was the game’s director at Bend Studio, Sony execs have always made the team think they’ve failed.
The game designer’s revelation was made on his personal Twitter profile, in which he commented on a news story about the 8 million copies sold of Ghost of Tsushima, by Sucker Punch. Ross retweeted the post about the samurai game, saying the survival zombie had the same sales success but not equal recognition.
At the time I left Sony, Days Gone had been out for a year and a half (and a month), and sold over 8 million copies. It’s since gone on to sell more, and then a million+ on Steam. Local studio management always made us feel like it was a big disappointment. #daysgone #PlayStation https://t.co/KMZr2pGe9r
— Jeff Ross (@JakeRocket) January 5, 2022
By the time I left Sony, Days Gone had been in the market for a year and a half (and a month) and had sold over 8 million copies. Since then it has sold more and then more than 1 million on Steam. The local studio management always made us feel like it was a big disappointment.
In April 2021, Ross reported that a sequel to Days Gone was in development but was eventually cancelled. The game would be a cooperative multiplayer, but the idea was rejected by Sony, largely because of the supposed failure of the first game.
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The following month, in June, Bend Studio revealed that it was working on a new IP (intellectual property). In a letter posted on Twitter, the studio thanks fans for their support in the games and at the end says: “We hope you’ll embark with us on our new journey, and we can’t wait to show you what we’re working on.”
— Bend Studio (@BendStudio) June 2, 2021
It is possible that, in addition to the copies sold, other external factors influence what Sony’s management considers a success or not, such as the reception of the game by the specialized media or even the strength of the title in prestigious awards such as The Game Awards. For comparative purposes, the version of Days Gone for PS4 maintains an average of 71 on the site Metacritic, While Ghost of Tsushima has note 83.
Days Gone is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (with 60 FPS and 4K resolution).
