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[Update] Bend and Bluepoint Found Out Their Games Were Cancelled 'at the Same Time as Everyone Else'

[Update] Bend and Bluepoint Found Out Their Games Were Cancelled 'at the Same Time as Everyone Else' - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 20 January 2025 / 4,502 Views

Update

Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier in a post on Bluesky has stated that developer at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games were notified of the games being cancelled before the news broke.

"I’ve seen this story getting a lot of traction on Reddit today but it’s not true," said Schreier. "People across the org were informed before my article went out last week."

I’ve seen this story getting a lot of traction on Reddit today but it’s not true. People across the org were informed before my article went out last week.

[image or embed]

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 1:45 PM


Original article

Last week it was announced Sony had cancelled two unannounced live service PlayStation games in development at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games. 

Journalist Jeff Grubb in his Game Mess Mornings series revealed that the two studios found out the games were cancelled at the same time everyone else did.

"I looked into this a little bit," said Grubb (via VideoGamesChronicle). "Yeah, all this is true. The two studios found out at the same time as everyone else, so people will be going into work today wondering 'hey, okay, what are we doing next?' And what they're going to have to do next, very likely, is pitch something to Sony, and the landscape of that has changed pretty drastically."

He added, "A couple of years ago you’d bring to PlayStation your pitch, that is: 'It’s a live service game, we know you want to hear that. And can we use the God of War IP? We know you want to hear that.' And then they get the green light, and they get budget, they get funding, they can grow their studio, hire more people, the people working there are safe.

"And now they have to go back to the drawing board, and come up with a pitch that PlayStation wants to hear, when no one really knows what they want to hear, and so it’s a rough situation."

A Sony spokesperson stated the games were cancelled "following a recent review" and PlayStation will continue to develop online and single player games. Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games won't be shut down.

Jason Schreier states Bluepoint Games was developing a live-service God of War game. 

Sony has struggled getting live-service games off the ground. Sony quickly shut down Concord following its release and eventually closed down developer Firewalk. Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Online was cancelled in December 2023 and a live service Twisted Metal game was reportedly cancelled.

Helldivers 2 is an exception to the live service troubles as the game was a smash hit.


A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.


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21 Comments
Machina (on 20 January 2025)

Bluepoint should've been given a green light to remake a PlayStation cult classic of their choice - if they had, it'd probably be released by now and Bluepoint would already be working on the next one. Putting them on a live service project was an odd choice given their speciality is remastering & remaking great PlayStation games, delivering a bunch of fan service in the process.

I'm glad they haven't been shut down, but they're probably in the last chance saloon now - and through no fault of their own.

  • +14
BraLoD Machina (on 20 January 2025)

Better still, it had a good chance of being LoD, as a Bluepoint director even said he wanted it to be a future project before we knew their current project was the Demon's Souls remake.

  • +1
The Fury (on 20 January 2025)

You've added the update but not changed the title? Still sensationalist. :P

If it's not true, say so.

  • +9
Hynad The Fury (on 20 January 2025)

It comes off as clickbait, and was originally reported as fact despite riding on an unsubstantiated rumour.

The title should be adjusted to align with the facts.

  • +3
Terramlea (on 20 January 2025)

considering bluepoint's previous work, it was a dumb move. Even if they don't do a new game, there are so many sony old ips they could revive like they did with sotc and demon souls. Like :

Arc the lad
jak and dexter
siren
syphon filter
white knight chronicle
wild arms
alundra
dark cloud
Rogue galaxy

On top of that, if we had like 20 sony games a year on this generation, ok.

But am i the only one thinking that we're having the worst sony gen ever ?

On ps3, we got 3 uncharted, lots of ratchet, 2 gt, tlou, infamous, 2 killzone, 3 resistance, motorstorm, demon souls, lbp. Yeah games take longer to make... maybe that's one reason not to screw everything.

Back in my time, if you didn't like ff 7, you had 8 and 9 to choose from. This gen, if you don't like ff 16 or gt7... good luck.

  • +5
HopeMillsHorror Terramlea (on 20 January 2025)

I bought my PS5 for Sony games... not 3rd party timed exclusives

While I would say the PS5 is currently my favorite console of the generation, it is arguably the worst PlayStation with 1st party output. Especially when you consider most of the 1st party games have been PS4 games that got a PS5 version.

  • +2
JohnVG HopeMillsHorror (on 20 January 2025)

So.., you seem to contradict yourself here.

  • +1
HopeMillsHorror JohnVG (on 20 January 2025)

Not sure where you see the contradiction?

1) PlayStation is my current main console, but they aren't delivering on typical 1st party expectations.
2) PlayStation is doing well when compared to Xbox or a 8yo Switch... but they aren't doing well when compared to any of their previous generations IMO.

  • 0
padib HopeMillsHorror (on 20 January 2025)

No they're not doing well, since we're talking about game library, everyone agrees on one thing: the console needs games. News like here show that the situation might be worse than we thought.

  • +1
JohnVG HopeMillsHorror (on 20 January 2025)

fair enough... but if you buyed PS5, literally, "for Sony games", and "PS5 is the worst first party output Playstation ever"... how PS5 is that great for you? I mean...: Sony is NOT delivering what you explicitly wanted and the very reason you bought a PS5.

  • +2
JohnVG Terramlea (on 20 January 2025)

Costs and difficulty to make a new game has grown exponentially several times
from 1995 to 2025. Also, probably the japanese work conditions has been "westernized" a lot this last 30 years and a japanese worker is costing a lot more, for less real working hours (and I'm not just talking about inflation, but real cost), Plus, japanese little and medium companies are suffering a lot the debt crisis of Japan: no credits, no money from within the country, to do BIG projects like decades ago... and those are a lot riskier if they fail to sell good. And many fail.

Even big companies are suffering, and now they are making lots of remakes and remasters. to get easy and assured money cause "nostalgia". And about the american Sony Studios: they are veeeery expensive ones, and it seems, they are also VERY bad managed, seeing this last news.

  • 0
JEMC (on 20 January 2025)

That's a d*ck move from Sony.

  • +2
mjk45 JEMC (on 20 January 2025)

It has since been debunked by Jason Schreier.

  • +1
JEMC mjk45 (on 21 January 2025)

Good to know.

  • 0
Random_Matt (on 20 January 2025)

How about two epic single player experiences.

  • +2
HopeMillsHorror Random_Matt (on 20 January 2025)

Maybe in another 4-6 years lol

  • -1
Zeltaz13 (on 20 January 2025)

Debunked by Jason Schreier on blue sky, they knew before his article came out

  • +1
LivncA_Dis3 (on 21 January 2025)

Hopefully these cancelled live service projects, their assets can't still be used to make a single player or multiplayer game in the future,

Completely scrapping projects seems like a waste of time and money

  • 0
JohnVG (on 20 January 2025)

Wow.
That's... impressive, Sony.
Zero respect to your own studios and its work force. And what a FUCKING coward executives: They deserve to be FIRED.

  • -3
Brimac19 JohnVG (on 24 January 2025)

it’s been debunked

  • +1
JohnVG Brimac19 (on 24 January 2025)

well, that's genuinely good news.

  • 0