Report: Sony Bend New IP In-Development Screenshots Surface

As we approach 2025, PlayStation is getting ready with first-party releases like Ghost of Yotei and Marathon, the latter heavily rumored for next year despite no official confirmation. Beyond these titles, much remains unknown about what other projects PlayStation Studios are developing, as they are wrapped in secrecy.

One of these projects shrouded in mystery is the next game from Bend Studio, developers of the 2019 open-world zombie shooter: Days Gone. From what little is known, despite reportedly having sold over nine million copies of Days Gone, they would have opted to work on a new IP rather than a sequel.

Job listings indicate that it would be a live service title built upon the open-world systems of Days Gone. Beyond that, not much is known, but given that the title reportedly began pre-production in 2019, it is expected to feature solid gameplay elements by now. The upcoming discovery we present could offer insights into what to expect from this game, both in terms of genre and mechanics.

An Early Look with UI, Concepts, and Possible Environments

This discovery comes from an online portfolio of a UI designer (name witheld to protect their privacy) who worked at Bend Studio from 2022 until March of this year. In their resume, we can see that he worked on an unannounced Bend Studio project, but the interesting part lies within images of their work, where we can find designs for projects he worked on, including concepts related to a project from Bend.

The concepts show design explorations for what appears to be a third-person shooter. One of these designs uses an image from Days Gone as a placeholder, which we know is a placeholder due to the contrast made by the UI elements with this game. Thus, it is safe to say that this project is not related to this franchise.

Despite not knowing the exact date of this material, we know that the only video in the list comes from a Google Drive file uploaded in 2023. This suggests that the other images might also be from the same year or possibly from 2022.

Update (12/12/24): Sony has sent MP1st a DMCA takedown regarding the images, which we’ve accommodated.

A Military-Themed Game as a Service? Our Speculations

Based on the images above, there’s not a whole lot to go on outside of the obvious like guns, crafting, an XP system, and some basic UI elements. However, there is an image and a video that appear to be set on test stages.

In the test pic, you can see things such as a “wardrobe,” suggesting some form of customization. Then there’s the “Rank” room. We can only guess this refers to your character level, and using the term “rank” may imply that this is a military-based game. This is backed up by the other images showing modern weaponry. But looking back at the possible test stage image, the character model doesn’t appear to be your basic stand-in, as they are clearly wearing body armor around parts of their body.

Now, in the test video, we can see the same character from the image situated in what appears to be a multiplayer arena, with blue and green zones that might serve as cover for the player. Another noteworthy detail is that the purpose of the video is to showcase a mechanic where the weapon’s reticle pulses like a heartbeat when health reaches a low level.

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Suppose this is indeed Bend Studio’s next project. In that case, we can infer that the game will have a military theme, leaning towards some sort of multiplayer/live-service format, and featuring futuristic elements such as nanotechnology, as suggested by mentioning “nanites” in one of the UIs.

Another guess we’ll likely see floating around is this being a new entry in the classic Syphon Filter saga. Some of the UI elements for the weapon menu resemble those from the Syphon Filter games, and the military theme fits well. We aren’t leaning toward this being the case, given the previous rumors and reports of this being more GaaS-focused. There are also a few UI elements that would suggest otherwise and may be too much of a change from the series. It’s unlikely this is Syphon Filter, though one could dream that a return to the series is still in the cards.

So, when can we expect to see this title be revealed? With a bit of optimism, we might say soon, given that The Game Awards are just around the corner and there are whispers of PlayStation making an appearance. However, at MP1st, we tend to think it will more likely be showcased at a PlayStation event early next year.

If the game has been in development for 4-5 years now (speculation), then we expect its reveal to be sooner rather than later.

While one might think these concepts could belong to a canceled project, we lean towards believing they are from Bend’s current game, as they align with the information about a multiplayer game found in job listings this year. Additionally, the artist’s resume indicates no canceled projects, only one unannounced.

More MP1st Reading:

• Report: New Concept Art Surfaces for PlayStation London Cancelled Project
• Report: Sony’s Firesprite Dark Horror Game to Be From an Established IP, Potentially Releasing on PC Day One
• Report: Former Naughty Dog and COD Devs’ “That’s No Moon” Studio’s First Early Screenshot of Third-Person Shooter Game Unearthed

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