Still, that hasn’t stopped fans from wishing for it. In fact, just days after the Bloomberg report emerged that Sony had shot down a Days Gone sequel pitch, fans have gone on to start a petition to get Sony to reconsider working on Days Gone 2. As a matter of fact, one of the biggest supporters of the Days Gone sequel petition is none other than Jeff Ross himself.
Will a Successful Days Gone Sequel Petition Change Sony’s Mind?
— Jeff Ross (@JakeRocket) April 16, 2021 Just recently, the former Bend Studio director took to Twitter to encourage fans to sign the Days Gone sequel petition. The movement first gained traction last week. Ross himself stated that he found himself surprised to see that this was actually happening. However, considering how popular it’s become, he’s gone on to encourage fans to sign up and possibly help persuade Sony to give a Days Gone sequel a chance. “Please jump on there and help push it over the 25,000 mark!”, were the exact words that Jeff Ross posted on his Twitter account. Only time will tell if the Days Gone sequel petition will actually work. Of course, this doesn’t guarantee anything. Just because thousands of fans signed up for the Days Gone sequel petition doesn’t mean Sony will revisit the idea of Days Gone 2. However, it wouldn’t be the first time that fan support was enough to convince large companies to change their stance. Perhaps the most prominent and also most recent example is Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Before its theatrical release in March 2021, the Snyder Cut was a mere rumor fueled by speculation that Joss Whedon had changed a lot about 2017’s Justice League film when he took over the project, following Zack Snyder’s decision to take a personal leave midway. However, thanks to the massive fan support that saw more than 150,000 people sign on for the petition, among many other things, Warner Bros. Picture eventually budged and gave Zack Snyder a chance to fully realize his original vision for the Justice League film.
What’s Next for Days Gone?
Having fan support is great. However, at the end of the day, money is what matters the most. One of the biggest reasons why Sony decided to move on from the idea of a Days Gone 2 is the lengthy development cycle. It’s worth noting that it took more than 4 years for Bend Studio to release Days Gone. Although Days Gone had a lot of commercial success as a first-party exclusive, it wasn’t universally loved, especially by critics. Perhaps the combination of the lack of sales numbers and critical appeal made the idea of Days Gone 2 unappealing in the eyes of Sony. With that said, if fans really want to see Bend Studio working on Days Gone 2, they’ll have to do more than just sign the Days Gone sequel petition. Days Gone is currently set to release on the PC, following through an earlier promise by SIE CEO Jim Ryan via a GQ interview. Days Gone will be sold digitally via the Epic Games Store and Steam and will feature a ton of improvements over the original PlayStation 4 version. Considering how much larger the PC market is compared to just the PlayStation audience alone, a huge boost in sales could ultimately be what forces Sony’s hands.