Days Gone also sold extremely well, according to the director of the game, as Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima sells over 8 million copies.
Throughout the PS4 generation, Sony released multiple big-budget titles to critical and commercial success. This included games in established franchises like God of War and The Last of Us, in addition to new IPs like Horizon Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima. Sony had seemingly decided to double-down on single-player games and almost every big-budget title they published was met with success in some form.
However, Days Gone was often considered to be an exception to this rule. Upon its release, Days Gone was met with middling reviews, especially when compared to the standard set by Sony’s other first-party studios. While some fans were probably expecting it to get a sequel on PS5, it was reported last year that a Days Gone 2 pitch was rejected by Sony. Yesterday, Sucker Punch Productions announced that Ghost of Tsushima had sold over 8 million copies, and Jeff Ross, the director of Days Gone, wanted to share some words with fans of the game.
Ross states that he left Sony in late 2020, and Days Gone had also sold over 8 million copies by that point. It has naturally gone on to sell more copies since then, with the well-received PC port accounting for more than a million units. Ross says that local studio management made Bend Studio feel like Days Gone was a disappointment, despite the impressive sales figures. In a follow-up Tweet, Ross thanks everyone for their messages, and commends fans of Days Gone for their continued support.
At the time I left Sony, Days Gone had been out for a year and a half (and a month), and sold over 8 million copies. It's since gone on to sell more, and then a million+ on Steam. Local studio management always made us feel like it was a big disappointment. #daysgone #PlayStation https://t.co/KMZr2pGe9r
— Jeff Ross (@JakeRocket) January 5, 2022
Selling over 8 million copies is a massive achievement for any game, let alone a new IP, so it is strange that Days Gone is often considered to be an outlier in Sony’s impressive AAA catalogue. Despite strong sales, critical reception seemingly plays a big role in Sony’s decision making. In addition to favourable reviews, most of Sony’s big-budget titles win or get nominated for multiple awards at the end of the year. Days Gone was indeed an outlier in this scenario, but perhaps Bend Studio should have been given another shot at this franchise.
It is still surprising to look back at how Sony’s first-party games blew up during the PS4 generation. As an example, it was confirmed that 2018’s God of War has sold 19.5 million copies as of August 2021, a staggering number for any exclusive game. This figure is bound to increase when God of War launches on PC later this month.
Days Gone is now available on PC and PS4.
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