Days Gone Director Says It Sold More Than Ghost Of Tsushima, But Was Still Viewed As A “Big Disappointment” By Sony

Days Gone is estimated to have sold over 9 million copies according to its director. 

Yesterday, Game Informer reported that Sucker Punch Productions’ 2020 samurai game, Ghost of Tsushima, has sold more than 8 million copies – quite the feat, especially for a new IP from the developer. According to former Days Gone director Jeff Ross, the Pacific Northwest zombie title sold even more copies than Ghost of Tsushima but, instead of the warm reception Ghost of Tsushima received for its sales, PlayStation viewed it as a “big disappointment.”

This isn’t a necessarily surprising sentiment from Ross as others have pointed out Sony and PlayStation’s awkward PR play for the game. Noted by Benji-SalesDays Gone was also the most-sold PS4 exclusive on PSN for 2019, according to a Twitter user named. It also made it into the top 10 best-selling digital titles of 2019. Benji-Sales even joked that “Sony won’t do PR on the sales success of the game, but I’ll keep pointing it out for them.” 

Back in April of 2021, Ross alluded to the fact that Days Gone did not make enough money to greenlight the sequel Bend pitched to PlayStation, and he also shared some details on what Days Gone 2 would have been. 

Ross expressed disappointment at the inability to develop Days Gone further. There’s probably something to be said of Ross’ departure from the studio following the release of Days Gone, which he’s now revealed was viewed by local management (likely local Sony and PlayStation management) as a “big disappointment.” 

The former Bend director touched further on his initial tweet in the replies section, revealing that he’s “not sure” if current Bend developers are unhappy with management. In a reply to someone asking if that’s the case, Ross said “in my case, there were years of issues to work through.”He spoke out about the Sony lack of sales talk and possible sequels. “wasn’t ever explained well,”In a separate tweet, Shawn Layden (ex-chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios), stated that the former chairman was still with the company. Days Gone and Bend’s “biggest advocate.” 

Layden even replied to Ross’ tweet last night, which you can see below: 

Elsewhere in Ross’ tweet replies, the Days Gone director reveals that developing Days Gone was not an easy task. 

“Development was a long slog, but we were a small team learning how to make our first open world game,” he wrote. “All things considered, it’s amazing we finished at all.” 

Ross also notes that just because Days Gone didn’t review as well as Bend and perhaps Sony and PlayStation might have liked, the potential for a “kick-ass sequel was there.” He noted that the first Killzone got a 70 on Metacritic but that its “sequel roared back with a 91.” Bend was planning to raise eyebrows with a sequel much in the same way, he said, citing that “you gotta crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run.” 

Ross’ tweets are a fascinating look at how PlayStation views its IP, or rather, perhaps how important critical reception is to a game’s success. Days Gone is selling more copies than Ghost of Tsushima. However, there are some differences in how the game was received by critics. Ghost of Tsushima’s review score has an 83, and Days Gone has a Metacritic rating of 71. As for why Sony and PlayStation view Ghost of Tsushima a success and Days Gone a “big disappointment” will likely continue to remain a mystery. 

You can read more about our opinions on the games at Game Informer’sDays Gone Review and Game Informer’sGhost of Tsushima Review. Read about what Days Gone 2 would have been, including a “shared universe with co-op play,” after that. 

Did you play Days Gone? How did it go? Please comment below.