Summary
- Another two live-service projects by PlayStation have been canceled.
- According to a new report, projects in the works by Bluepoint Games and Bend Studio were both canceled “following a recent review.”
- While it is unclear what Bend was working on, Bluepoint was reportedly working on a God of War live-service game.
Two more live-service games at PlayStation have been canceled by Sony, one of which was allegedly a God of War title. The two unannounced projects were being helmed by Bluepoint Games and Bend Studio, both first-party developers for Sony PlayStation.
The details, which were first reported by Jason Schreier of Bloomberg, were confirmed by Sony. In a statement, a spokesperson said that “following a recent review” the projects were canceled. That said, the corporation will continue to pursue opportunities in both the single-player and online live-service space, according to the report.
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Additionally, neither Bluepoint nor Bend will be closed. Previously, Firewalk Studios was shutdown after the failure of Concord.
“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.”
While it is unknown what Bend was working on, Schreier shared that Bluepoint’s project was related to God of War. Bend last produced Days Gone, while Bluepoint, which was responsible for the Demon’s Souls remake, provided support for Ragnarök.
PlayStation fans have speculated for years about Bluepoint’s new projects since the well-received PS5 remake of Demon’s Souls (2020). I can report that from 2020-2022 they were helping on God of War Ragnarok. Since then they’ve been on the live-service project that was canceled today. Now, unclear
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-01-16T23:32:21.940Z
Sony’s Live-Service Pursuits Have Struggled Mightily
While Helldivers 2 was an unexpected success, the rest of Sony’s live-service pursuits have been less fruitful. Thursday’s two canceled projects join a slew of other titles that were either canceled early or shuttered altogether.
In 2024, Concord was ultimately shuttered and pulled from store shelves. Meanwhile, in 2023, Naughty Dog announced the cancelation of its The Last of Us Online project. Elsewhere, projects like a Twisted Metal live-service title were canceled.
At one point, Sony affirmed that it had 12 live-service titles in the works, with plans to release 10 of those titles by 2026. Since then, things have been nothing short of a disaster, Thursday’s news notwithstanding. Still, the company is seemingly committed to the live-service genre, having detailed last November that it intends to combine single-player games with live-service titles that “pursue upside while taking on a certain amount of risk upon release.”
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