Bend Studio's Next Game Targets 2027 Reveal After Moving Away From Live-Service Plans

Bend Studio might finally be approaching its next major reveal, according to a new report from MP1st. The PlayStation-owned developer is reportedly working on an unannounced third-person game that supports cooperative gameplay, and its official reveal is currently expected to happen sometime in 2027.

The report also hints that the project might be far more developed than many players would anticipate, with the team apparently targeting a release as early as next year. While there are still a lot of details to come, the latest information gives PlayStation fans a reason to keep their eyes on the studio after years of uncertainty about what its next project will be.

One noteworthy thing is that Bend Studio's next game is apparently not going to be a live-service title.

That’s good news for gamers who have grown tired of Sony’s efforts to establish more games-as-a-service projects over the past few years. The company has suffered a few setbacks in this area already, and the cancelation of a number of projects has cast doubt over its strategy for moving beyond traditional single-player releases.

Bend Studio was previously developing a live-service game under the codename Mirror Pond, but that project was eventually cancelled. Earlier reports even included animations from the abandoned title, giving players a small glimpse of what the studio had been working on before development came to an end.

The latest report shows Bend has moved away from that direction and is now working on something else. The upcoming project will reportedly include co-op gameplay, but it won’t follow the traditional live-service structure. And that’s important, because not every cooperative game needs to be supported by regular updates, seasonal content, or long-term monetization schemes to be fun.

One thing the report does make clear: the game on the way will not be a sequel to Days Gone. This may disappoint players who have been waiting for years to see Deacon St. John back on another adventure, especially given how the original game gained a dedicated following after its release. But the odds of a sequel have become less likely with the years.

There have been reports that Bend Studio didn’t go forward with a second installment and that the people who led development on the original game are no longer at the studio. There have also been reports that some of the development team were less than enthusiastic about taking the franchise further.

That doesn't automatically mean Days Gone 2 would have been a failure.

The original game established a recognizable world, introduced a few memorable characters, and delivered a post-apocalyptic experience centered on motorcycle exploration and running into large groups of infected enemies. A sequel could have explored those ideas further and given the developers a chance to fix some of the original game's shortcomings. But you can’t just expect a studio to keep working on a franchise if its development team doesn’t want to take it that way. Sony also would have to assess if putting money into another sequel makes sense in terms of its broader release strategies.

Days Gone 2 has reportedly been canned, leaving players to wonder what Bend Studio may be cooking up instead. Another possibility is that the team is working on an entirely new IP. But the report does not rule out a return to another established franchise. Bend worked on the Siphon Filter series, which has been absent from big PlayStation first-party releases for years.

A new entry, remake, or remaster could give the studio a chance to revisit its earlier work while introducing the franchise to a new generation of players. At this stage, though, there is no confirmation that the upcoming project has anything to do with Syphon Filter.

The reported development timeline also raises some intriguing possibilities.

Bend Studio's previous live-service project was cancelled relatively recently, and the team appears to have moved forward with another game since then. If the next title really is targeting a release next year, the studio could have spent approximately three years working on it, depending on when full production began.

That is a relatively short development period for a major PlayStation project, particularly when compared with the lengthy production cycles associated with many modern AAA releases. This faster turnaround could indicate that the developers are building on existing technology or resources rather than starting entirely from scratch.

There is a possibility that the developers have reused certain assets, technology, or ideas from the cancelled Mirror Pond project. Apparently the last game had a motorcycle in it, which of course makes me think of Days Gone. But there's no confirmation that any of its original features have made it into the new project. Another possibility is that PlayStation has placed greater pressure on Bend Studio to deliver a completed project after several years without a major release. The cancellation of Mirror Pond would have represented a significant investment of development time and resources without producing a finished game.

With Days Gone remaining the studio's last major original release, Sony could reasonably expect the team to demonstrate what it can accomplish next. Still, there is no confirmed information suggesting that the developers face a strict deadline or risk closure. Any suggestion that the studio has been forced to rush its upcoming project remains speculation.

Regardless of what the team is developing, Bend Studio's return to the spotlight would be an important development for PlayStation.

The company has several established first-party studios, including Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, and Santa Monica Studio, which have consistently delivered major releases. However, PlayStation also needs a stronger lineup of supporting developers capable of expanding its release schedule and introducing different experiences. Studios such as Media Molecule and Bend have spent considerable time without major new releases, while Bluepoint Games has recently shut down. 

Media Molecule is also expected to have a new project to show in the coming years, potentially giving PlayStation another opportunity to bring one of its less active studios back into the spotlight. The developer has a reputation for its creative approach to games, with projects like Dreams giving players expansive tools to build their own experiences. 

If Bend Studio’s next project is on track for the reported release window, it could be another important piece of PlayStation’s upcoming lineup. A third-person co-op game that doesn’t go the live-service route would also provide the company with another kind of experience to offer players.

The studio has not yet announced its next project, and it should treat the reported reveal window of 2027 as a target, not an actual date. But the chance to see the game next year means players may not have to wait too long to find out what Bend has been cooking up. An official announcement could finally provide some clarity about the studio's direction and its plans for the future.