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Two veteran lead developers who worked on 2019 open world post-apocalyptic adventure Days Gone have departed Sony's Bend Studio, with both confirming their departures via Twitter in the last 24 hours.
As spotted by Video Games Chronicle, both writer-director John Garvin and game director Jeff Ross announced their departures within ten minutes of each other late last night, although Garvin revealed he had actually departed the studio over a year ago shortly after Days Gone had shipped. Both had been with the company since the mid-90s, with Garvin working as creative director on almost the entire Syphon Filter series while Ross—who also worked on the Syphon Filter games—previously directed Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the PlayStation Vita.
No reason has been given by either man for their departure as such, but as for their future, Garvin has been focusing on personal projects including writing, painting and publishing and taking a break from the games industry, while Ross intends to relocate to Chicago once the ongoing global pandemic calms down and is set to reveal his plans at a later time.
Days Gone was recieved pretty well when it launched for the PlayStation 4 last year —we ourselves gave it a solid 8 in our review—and the studio did confirm it's been in the pre-production stages of a new game back at the tail end of 2019. Though neither Garvin nor Ross will be a part of it, we're looking forward to seeing what the studio may be cooking up for the PlayStation 5.
… and generally, enjoying a break from the game industry. For those that don’t know, I moved to Bend, Oregon in 1997, and began work as art director for Eidetic, a tiny 12 person studio headed by the legendary Marc Blank (creator of Zork). (2
— John Garvin (@John_Garvin) December 1, 2020
This week is my last at @PlayStation and @BendStudio. I'm incredibly proud of all the games I got to make, but also looking forward to new challenges ahead. I'll post about my plans later, but I'll be moving to Chicago once COVID calms down. #JeffsGone #DaysGone
— Jeff Ross #DaysGone #PlayStation5 #Sony (@JakeRocket) December 1, 2020
