Days Gone creative director: "Never say never" about a sequel, after game director says exactly that

Open-world zombie adventure Days Gone might not technically feature any zombies, but at least the discourse around a potential sequel is constantly reanimating. Via Xitter, the original game’s creative director John Garvin has encouraged fans to "never say never" about a Days Gone 2, while reminding us that a full outline for the game had already been completed prior to his departure from developers Bend Studio in 2020.

Even with the caveat of "I’m not holding my breath", Garvin’s take is an altogether more hopeful one that that of fellow Bend alumni and Days Gone game director Jeff Ross, who in May tweeXed a collage of popular PlayStation characters – sans his own post-apocalyptic motorcycling hero, Deacon St. John. "A lot of people still ask me if there will ever be a Days Gone sequel, so I submit this poster as evidence it will never happen", Ross wrote, along with an apparent pop at Sony Interactive execs (including Hermen Hulst, co-CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment) for never being "fans" of the game.

Just to be clear that this isn’t a 'My dads are fighting' situation, Garvin’s tweet was not in direct response to Ross’s, and even suggested that Sony re-hire the two to work on the elusive sequel. Whether Bend would be up for that is a different matter: besides a recent job posting suggesting the studio are busy trying their hands at a new live-service game, Bend have previously distanced themselves from their former creative director after he posted a (long since deleted) tweet blaming "woke reviewers" in part for Days Gone’s lukewarm reception. I’ve never played it myself, either on console or when it came to PC in 2021, though I’ve wokishly shaken my Magic Woke Ball and it said "sequel unlikely". I’d therefore probably go with Ross as having the more realistic outlook.

That said, the image that Ross interpreted as a damning snub on Sony’s part is not an official promo but a piece of fanart, seemingly made by unaffiliated PlayStation enjoyer @Traveler_BP. They’ve even made an older version featuring ya boi Deacon, though this should not necessarily be considered confirmation that Sony actually love Days Gone and will be greenlighting two new games and a remake any time now. I think there’s still a film coming, though?