Days Gone studio celebrates its cameo in “masterpiece” platformer Astro Bot, but one former developer says it’s a sad “way to protect your legacy”

The developers of Astro Bot and Days Gone are engaging in a public back-and-forth, with Astro Bot's team expressing gratitude for the inclusion of Days Gone as a cameo in their game, while Days Gone's former director, John Garvin, expresses dissatisfaction with the representation.

One of the many PlayStation games to cameo in the hot new platformer on the block Astro Bot is Days Gone, though how neat that is seemingly differs depending on which of the game's developers you ask.

"Astro Bot is a masterpiece!" says Bend Studio community manager Kevin McAllister. "Such a well-designed, creative, and polished experience that brings me so much joy. Thank you again, Team Asobi, for including Days Gone into your wonderful game. Our team is incredibly honored. Please go play it and say hi to Deacon for me."

McAllister's sentiment echos that of the official Bend Studio account, though not so much Days Gone's now departed director and writer John Garvin.

"Kinda sad that Deek has been reduced to promoting other games … well done Bend Studio! Way to protect your legacy!" he says before a back-and-forth with several fans, including the following response to one telling him to calm down: "I see my character reduced to a cartoon schill promoting some small game and I’m being harsh? Sit down, my brotha, adults are talking."

Garvin initially left Bend Studio sometime after Days Gone's release, eventually announcing as much on Twitter over a year later. Since then, Garvin and the studio have appeared at odds here and there. On one occasion, Garvin put the post-apocalyptic game's poor reception on bugs, critics who didn't play the game, and the "woke reviewers" who did, prompting the studio to release a statement distancing itself from the view.

As for Days Gone 2, that doesn't look like happening anytime soon. While game director and fellow Bend Studio alumni Jeff Ross has teased what could have been, the studio maintains that it's working on something new and that it's "not fair to fans" to be "continuously getting fed false hope and poor information."

We're not stopping there, either. Team Asobi is following up a strong launch with free Astro Bot DLC teases, including more VIP bots to rescue and speedrun levels.