Update: Days Gone Sales Numbers Might Be Lower Than 8 Million After Director Reveals Source Was Site That Tracks Trophies

Update, 1/7/21:

Yesterday, Game Informer reported that Days Gone manager Jeff Ross said Bend Studio's latest crippled sold much than Ghost of Tsushima, which precocious deed a milestone aft selling 8 cardinal copies. However, successful a caller livestream with erstwhile God of War and Twisted Metal manager David Jaffe, Ross revealed that his root for the income numbers was a now-defunct website called Gamestat, which tracks PlayStation Trophy data, arsenic reported by PushSquare. 

Here's what Ross said: "Where I got my information from, I had access to a batch of telemetry, and I could spot worldly and erstwhile we were astatine 5 cardinal copies – erstwhile we were announced astatine 5 cardinal copies – the telemetry information was astatine 5.8 [million]. There are fundamentally resells oregon shared discs. I was really utilizing an outer website – I deliberation they're offline present – but they were utilizing trophy information and it lined up with our interior telemetry information truthful for me, it's like, 'good enough.'" 

Ross past said that erstwhile leaving Sony, you don't needfully get last numbers for a game's sales. Ross besides said arsenic a originative director, he didn't person entree to the implicit and authoritative Sony numbers.

"I deliberation [Gamestat] inactive has the information archived," Ross continued. "Based disconnected the 8 cardinal mark, it matched our telemetry and truthful I'm like, 'good enough.' So possibly it was 7.7 [million]-ish, possibly it was 8.2 [million]-ish, I don't know." 

Ross besides said the telemetry he's referring to was seen by him earlier Days Gone was released arsenic a PlayStation Plus rubric successful 2021. 

What's absorbing astir this is that trophy information does not needfully construe straight to sales. That's due to the fact that players that person purchased utilized copies of Days Gone oregon person played it arsenic a PlayStation Plus rubric (neither of which would beryllium tracked arsenic caller sales) tin gain trophies.

The players that earned trophies from utilized copies of Days Gone would beryllium lumped into the players that purchased a caller transcript of Days Gone, frankincense skewing the full numbers Ross cited arsenic copies sold. So, portion Days Gone apt did merchantability millions, the 8 cardinal copies sold (plus 1 cardinal sold connected Steam) is apt not wholly accurate.

Ross besides clarified that erstwhile helium said Days Gone was a disappointment to "local workplace management," helium was referring to precocious absorption wrong Bend Studio and not needfully PlayStation oregon Sony management. 

This update was updated to see nonstop quotes from Ross. The header has been changed to bespeak Ross' words much accurately, too. 

The archetypal communicative continues below...

Original Story, 1/6/21:

Days Gone has sold astatine slightest 9 cardinal copies, according to its director. 

Yesterday, Game Informer reported that Sucker Punch Productions’ 2020 samurai game, Ghost of Tsushima, has sold much than 8 cardinal copies – rather the feat, particularly for a caller IP from the developer. According to erstwhile Days Gone manager Jeff Ross, the Pacific Northwest zombie rubric sold adjacent much copies than Ghost of Tsushima but, alternatively of the lukewarm reception Ghost of Tsushima received for its sales, PlayStation viewed it arsenic a “big disappointment.”

“At the clip I near Sony [December 2020], Days Gone had been retired for a twelvemonth and a fractional (and a month), and sold implicit 8 cardinal copies,” Ross wrote successful a punctuation tweet of Game Informer’s Ghost of Tsushima story astir its latest merchantability milestone. “It’s gone connected to merchantability more, and past a million+ connected Steam. Local workplace absorption ever made america consciousness similar it was a large disappointment.”  

This isn’t a needfully astonishing sentiment from Ross arsenic others person pointed retired Sony and PlayStation’s awkward PR play for the game. As noted by Benji-Sales, a fashionable video crippled income and concern expert connected Twitter, backmost successful January of 2020, Days Gone was the best-selling PS4 exclusive connected PSN successful 2019 and it besides held a spot successful the apical 10 best-selling integer games for the full year. Benji-Sales adjacent joked that “Sony won’t bash PR connected the income occurrence of the game, but I’ll support pointing it retired for them.” 

Back successful April of 2021, Ross alluded to the information that Days Gone did not marque capable wealth to greenlight the sequel Bend pitched to PlayStation, and helium besides shared immoderate details connected what Days Gone 2 would person been. 

Ross has expressed his disappointment successful the the deficiency of further Days Gone development. There’s probably something to beryllium said of Ross’ departure from the workplace pursuing the merchandise of Days Gone, which he’s present revealed was viewed by section absorption (likely section Sony and PlayStation management) as a “big disappointment.” 

The erstwhile Bend manager touched further connected his archetypal tweet successful the replies section, revealing that he’s “not sure” if existent Bend developers are unhappy with management. In a reply to idiosyncratic asking if that’s the case, Ross said “in my case, determination were years of issues to enactment through.” He besides revealed that the deficiency of authoritative income treatment from Sony and a imaginable sequel “wasn’t ever explained well,” citing successful a antithetic tweet that contempt that, erstwhile Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shawn Layden, who near the institution successful 2019, was Days Gone and Bend’s “biggest advocate.” 

Layden adjacent replied to Ross’ tweet past night, which you tin spot below: 

Elsewhere successful Ross’ tweet replies, the Days Gone manager reveals that processing Days Gone was not an casual task. 

“Development was a agelong slog, but we were a tiny squad learning however to marque our archetypal unfastened satellite game,” he wrote. “All things considered, it’s astonishing we finished astatine all.” 

Ross besides notes that conscionable due to the fact that Days Gone didn’t reappraisal arsenic good arsenic Bend and possibly Sony and PlayStation mightiness person liked, the imaginable for a “kick-ass sequel was there.” He noted that the archetypal Killzone got a 70 connected Metacritic but that its “sequel roared backmost with a 91.” Bend was readying to rise eyebrows with a sequel overmuch successful the aforesaid way, helium said, citing that “you gotta crawl earlier you tin walk, and locomotion earlier you tin run.” 

Ross’ tweets are a fascinating look astatine however PlayStation views its IP, oregon rather, possibly however important captious reception is to a game’s success. Considering Days Gone has sold much than Ghost of Tsushima, the biggest quality betwixt the merchandise of some is the reviews: Days Gone has a 71 connected Metacritic, a reappraisal aggregate site, and Ghost of Tsushima has an 83. As for wherefore Sony and PlayStation presumption Ghost of Tsushima a occurrence and Days Gone a “big disappointment” will apt proceed to stay a mystery. 

For more, cheque retired our thoughts connected some games successful Game Informer’s Days Gone review and Game Informer’s Ghost of Tsushima review. Read astir what Days Gone 2 would person been, including a “shared beingness with co-op play,” aft that. 

Did you play Days Gone? What did you deliberation of it? Let america cognize successful the comments below!