Bend Studios Job Advert Suggests New Game Announcement Soon

Days Gone Studio Bend Could Be Gearing Up To Announce Next Title Published Sep 30, 2026, 3:41 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. It's been seven years since Bend Studio released its last title. Days Gone launched to mixed critical reception on the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, then built a strong, vocal community in the years that followed. Unfortunately, those years have been devoid of any new games from the studio, which has been marred by problems. That could be about to change soon, as a new job listing suggests that Bend is about to ramp up marketing and community engagement for its "next game". The last few years have been tough for Bend Studio. After the release of Days Gone, the studio lost two of its directors and became embroiled in a bitter feud with one of them. It was later revealed that a pitch for Days Gone 2 was rejected, and the studio was pushed to work on an ill-fated live-service title. Sony canceled it in January last year, along with a God of War live-service game. Bend remained defiant, vowing it still has plans to make "cool sh*t", and it looks like we might not have to wait too much longer to find out what that cool sh*t is. A new job posting has just been shared by the studio's brand and communications manager, Kevin McAllister, seeking a community manager to "join the team for our next game." While the role doesn't begin until next January, it is open to someone joining "our passionate and creative team in crafting our next high-profile AAA title." This is the first Bend-related post McAllister has made since May. The official Bend Studio job specification says the successful candidate will engage with this new game's community through social media, execute social strategies and community initiatives, and foster a positive and inclusive environment for Bend's players. Of course, this is all speculation at this point, but a community manager needs a community to foster, and with no game announced, there isn't much to work with yet. Since this role is specifically targeted toward "our next game," not a broad Bend Studio community, you have to imagine something will be announced relatively soon to give this person work to do. While this does signal some kind of upcoming marketing push, AAA studios can onboard community staff 12 months before a public reveal to establish brand guidelines and coordinate with PlayStation’s global marketing teams. Sony's current marketing strategy is split down the middle. For established sequels, the publisher has actively favored shorter promotional windows, often holding back reveals until the final months before launch, much like Ghost of Yotei. However, completely new IPs or major licensed titles still get the long-lead treatment. Marvel's Wolverine faced a long multi-year gap between its initial teaser and its actual release, while Naughty Dog has kept details on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet slim since its 2024 announcement. With Bend Studio onboarding community staff for a project that hasn't even been formally named yet, the team could be prepping a sudden reveal, or simply establishing the social infrastructure for a multi-year marketing campaign. Systems Released April 26, 2019 ESRB M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language Developer(s) Bend Studio Publisher(s) Sony Engine Unreal Engine 4 Genre(s) Open-World, Action, Adventure