Days Gone 2 pitch included a "shared universe with co-op play"

Days Gone 2 could have had co-op play, Days Gone game director Jeff Ross has revealed.

Speaking with God of War creator David Jaffe during a livestream (as transcribed by VGC), Jeff Ross said that he had been working on a pitch for Days Gone 2, but that he didn't think that the status of a potential follow-up had even been confirmed, implying that his NDA with Sony prevented him from talking about it further. Ross eventually left Sony Bend, citing personal reasons that had "nothing to do with the status of the sequel."

While Ross didn't comment on the future of the series, he did reveal a handful of factors that might have lead Sony to think twice about commissioning another game. Sony Bend almost tripled in size during development, from 45 to 120 employees, and while the project's starting budget was "big," the final cost was "a much higher number." Sony never released sales figures for Days Gone, but Ross described the game as a commercial success in spite of its critical reception, which he labeled a "bloodbath."

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Ross also outlined some of the features that might have made their way into a potential sequel, including "a shared universe with co-op play," as well as some kind of base-building mechanic.

A report last week stated that Sony Bend's Days Gone 2 pitch had been "unsuccessful" in the aftermath of the 2019 release, and that the studio was now working on a new project. Ross didn't comment on those claims, but did corroborate the report's claim that some parts of the studio had been assigned to work with Naughty Dog. According to the report, those projects were an Uncharted game and another multiplayer title, but those details haven't been confirmed either.

Sadly, Ross' NDA with Sony means that this discussion poses more questions than it answers, but it's interesting to get a sense of the development costs associated with a major Sony publication. The door doesn't seem to have officially closed on Days Gone 2, but given the first game went over budget for a Metacritic score far below what Sony usually expects of its first-party games, it doesn't seem like the series' future is particularly bright.