Days Gone studio's new open-world IP will have multiplayer

Bend Studio, the first-party PlayStation developer behind the Syphon Filter series and Days Gone, has revealed that its new open-world game will feature multiplayer.

"Today, we are excited to share just a snippet of news on our current project," Bend Studio online community specialist Kevin McAllister says in a PlayStation Blog post. "We are currently working on a new IP that includes multiplayer and builds upon the open-world systems of Days Gone, but brings you a whole new world that we are extremely excited to craft for you. We cannot wait to reveal it to you when the time is right."

We've known for some time that Bend was building a new IP based on the open-world systems of Days Gone; PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst said as much in a Q&A a year ago. This is, however, the first time the developers have officially referred to multiplayer features, though those options were hinted at through a job listing at the studio last year.

For now, it's unclear whether the new game will focus primarily on multiplayer, or simply offer it as an option alongside solo play. An early pitch for Days Gone 2 apparently included a "shared universe with co-op play," and it's possible that idea could have survived into the new game - but it's likely to be some time before we find out for sure.

Bend Studio is also recruiting alongside today's announcement, and those job listings reveal a few additional potential details on the game. A Senior Level Designer listing asks for someone with knowledge of "story and character design, level design, AI design, player control, user interface, pacing, etc," all of which seems to imply a more traditional, authored experience alongside whatever multiplayer options are here.

A Senior Combat Designer listing mentions both "ranged and melee combat designs," as well as "combat systems for weapons, gear, traversal, and player abilities," which certainly tracks with the idea that this game is building on the gameplay systems of Days Gone.

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