UPDATE: Jeff Grubb of the Game Mess Mornings Podcast has confirmed that the “even less exciting” remaster he was referring to is indeed Days Gone. In the latest episode, the topic of the remaster being Days Gone was brought up again. When asked if that was the game he was referring to previously, Jeff said, “Yeah, this is it.”
ORIGINAL STORY: A remaster of Bend Studios’ Days Gone is seemingly being hinted at by Jordan Middler of videogameschronicle.com.
If you’re thinking “wait, didn’t Days Gone just come out in, like, 2019?” then you’d be completely right. The action-adventure game featuring biker-turned-zombie-killer Deacon came out in 2019 and already has a PS5 patch that enables the game to run smoother.
However, that apparently isn’t enough to stop Sony from remastering it. Just the other day insider Jeff Grubb was discussing the Horizon Zero Dawn remaster that appeared on the ESRB website. During the chat, Grubb commented that he has heard the upcoming PlayStation State of Play, which is itself not officially confirmed, will feature “some other remaster” that will “be even less exciting” than Horizon.
This set people speculating about what remaster Sony could be working on, but one person seems somewhat confident that they know exactly what Sony will announce. Enter Jordan Middler, a podcaster and writer for VGC.
Responding to a tweet focused on Grubb’s revelation, Jordan replied, “If he was angry that his character is in Astro Bot, he’s going to lose his mind at this.”
Jordan’s comment is making fun of John Garvin, the creative director of Days Gone who was fired from Bend Studios. Garvin has earned a rather bad reputation since his departure from the studio, often heavily criticizing his former team, Sony, reviewers and more over Days Gone’s relatively small level of success.
Just recently, Garvin railed against the lead character of Days Gone appearing as a cameo in Astro Bot, tweeting out: “Haha, I see my character reduced to a cartoon schill promoting some small game and I’m being harsh? Sit down, my brotha, adults are talking”
Middler’s comment is aimed squarely at Garvin, but also strongly hints that the upcoming remaster will be for Days Gone. If true, it would be a baffling decision by Sony, because why bother remastering a game that’s only five years old? I actually loved Days Gone, but I don’t feel any desire for a remastered version, although part of me hopes that if its true it does exceptionally well so that a sequel can finally be made.
Plus, you’d think if Sony are willing to throw money at remastering a relatively new game like Days Gone, why wouldn’t they spend that money on re-releasing something like God of War, a much more commercially and critically successful game? I can only assume someone at Bend Studios has a silver tongue to pull this one off, if it turns out to be true.