A former developer from Bend Studio has gone public about the studio’s canceled live-service project, saying the shutdown earlier this year was something he expected.
To be fair we didn’t make enough substantial progress over the 3 years I was there. I saw the eventual cancellation coming prior to it.October 29, 2025
It’s unfortunate for those curious about the concept: Morrison says he can’t discuss the game’s content, and when asked if any of it will ever be revealed publicly he replied that he doesn’t think so.
On his LinkedIn profile, Morrison names the abandoned project “Mirror Pond” and details his role: he worked on hand-keyed and mocap-based gameplay animation for player characters and NPCs — covering locomotion, traversal, combat, abilities, interactions, selection screens, and more — and contributed to integrating and iterating content within the Decima engine.
When news of the cancellation first surfaced earlier this year, reports indicated the title was a live-service game. The project’s termination reportedly coincided with the cancellation of a separate, rumored God of War live-service effort at Bluepoint. In June it was reported that roughly 30% of Bend Studio staff were impacted by layoffs, and Sony later confirmed the studio’s previous project was intended as a live-service title; more context was reported by outlets including Kotaku.
Meanwhile, Sony continues to invest in live-service development: PlayStation Studios recently added a new team working on a “team-based action game” designed for years of ongoing support.
Source: gamesradar.com
