Both Sony Bend's Creative Director and Game Director has left the studio

During the night (European time), two of the most prominent members of Sony Bend (Days Gone) announced on Twitter that they have left the studio. The most notable one is the Creative Director John Garvin, who actually left a year ago, but hasn't announced it until now. He writes:

"Hi all, a quick announcement: I haven't spoken about this before for various reasons, but I'm no longer with Bend Studio and haven't been for over a year. Since Days Gone shipped, I've been focusing on personal projects: painting, writing, publishing 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).

Over the past two decades, I helped the studio grow into a major developer, now part of the Sony family. Along the way, I wrote and directed every game from Syphon Filter through Days Gone, including two of my favourites, Resistance: Retribution, and Uncharted Golden Abyss."

What Garvin will do next is unknown, but we hope we'll see more of his creative mind in the game industry one way or another. The other person leaving Sony Bend is the Game Director Jeff Ross who has been with Sony Interactive Entertainment for 15 years. He tweets:

"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."

It sounds like Ross has plans for more video games in the future, but it remains unknown if he will join a developer in Chicago or maybe start a new one (or something completely different). Whatever happens next, we wish both gents good luck!