Days Gone was created by Sony Bend Studio and headed by two senior developers, Jeff Ross and John Garvin, who have left the studio.
In an announcement that was shared by the Twitter account of Jeff Ross, he confirmed that today is the last day for him at Sony Bend Studio. He also talked about looking forward to new challenges ahead and sharing his plans later.
This week is my last at @PlayStation and @BendStudio. I'm incredibly proud of all the games I got to make, but also looking forward to new challenges ahead. I'll post about my plans later, but I'll be moving to Chicago once COVID calms down. #JeffsGone #DaysGone
— Jeff Ross (@JakeRocket) December 1, 2020
On the other hand, an announcement was also made by John Garvin, who confirmed that he had left the studio a while back and was finally revealing it today. He also worked as one of the creative leads on Days Gone. His Twitter thread explains that he is taking a break from the gaming industry.
Hi all, a quick announcement: I haven’t spoken about this before for various reasons, but I’m no longer with Bend Studio and haven’t been for over a year. Since Days Gone shipped, I’ve been focusing on personal projects: painting, writing, publishing … (1
— John Garvin (@John_Garvin) December 1, 2020
Both of these were quite senior at Sony Bend Studio. John Garvin has worked on numerous projects at the studio including Resistance: Retribution. Jeff Ross worked as the game director for Days Gone. The studio was reportedly working on a new project after the success of Days Gone, which ended up as one of the best-selling games of 2019.
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It is unclear why both of them left after the development and launch of Days Gone, however, such type of burnout is relatively common with a vast budget open-world game, as was the case with Days Gone. Another example of a creative lead leaving after the launch of a successful game is from Sony’s Naughty Dog. Bruce Straley, who was the game director for The Last of Us and Uncharted 4 had also left Naughty Dog after the release of their latest game.
Days Gone is currently available as part of the PS Plus Games Collection on PS5. It has also received an update for the PS5 adding support for 60 FPS. The game is available for PS4 and playable on the PS5 through backward compatibility.
Days Gone was developed by Sony Bend Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game launched exclusively for the PS4 in 2019.
