And even within the halls of Sony you can find sequels that drastically improved upon the first. Just look at Assassin’s Creed, which debuted to middling reviews but found its footing with the fantastic Assassin’s Creed II. Game franchises can come back from shaky starts, especially when there’s a solid foundation. Bend’s reverence for motorcycle movement made the vehicle a joy to ride, its Freaker hordes are both frightening and thrilling to tackle, and Sam Witwer delivered a strong performance as Deacon St. But even despite all that, the years of marketing pushes it got, and all the work Bend did to create its Freaker horde tech and establish this world, Bloomberg reports a Days Gone 2 was not “seen as a viable option.” In the case of Days Gone, it’s a particular shame because there was clearly a gem of an idea buried underneath its issues. Developer Bend Studio has shown its dedication to the game, with consistent patches and post-launch support to improve the tech issues critics noted. While Days Gone didn’t necessarily review as favorably as other Sony first-party games, it amassed a dedicated fanbase and was reportedly profitable. While almost every new Sony first-party launch has been coupled with a record-breaking sales headline, and later end-of-year accolades from around the industry, the report suggests that the quality bar came at the expense of games and potential franchises that weren't hits right out of the gate. That led to the odd showings in the later years of the PS4, where Sony trotted out the same group of exclusives for years at PSX, State of Play, and E3 showcases. But as the Horizon Zero Dawns and the God of Wars became the focal point of PlayStation’s first-party stable, there was less and less to keep players entertained in between. While the lack of support is troubling enough, The Last of Us - a benchmark of excellence at Sony - isn’t a game that screams the need for a remake eight years on, and in the wake of a perfectly good remaster.Ī quality-over-quantity approach isn’t inherently a bad thing, of course, and Sony’s output of successful first-party releases this past generation is a big reason why people buy PlayStations. Rumors have abounded for years that they would be continuing the Uncharted franchise, but Schreier’s report states the team was allegedly working on a Last of Us remake that never got the support it needed there, and has since been moved to Naughty Dog. The most damning example comes from what we learned about the development studio properly spinning up to be its own team within the Visual Arts Service Group, a Sony team that pinch-hit and assisted other Sony studios cross the finish line with their games. It’s certainly fascinating to learn about the projects that have and haven’t materialized from a company that’s been notoriously quiet in recent years, but the report points towards a company and leadership ethos that leaves little room for a bedrock of gaming, experimentation. Jason Schreier’s report covers a handful of allegedly canned or altered projects among Sony’s suite of first party studios, like a The Last of Us remake that changed hands several times, a Days Gone sequel that will never see the light of day, and more.