Two years ago, writer John Garvin and director Jeff Ross left Days Gone developer Sony Bend Studio, but Ross has found a new home at Square Enix with Crystal Dynamics. "I'm excited to announce I now work at the amazing Crystal Dynamics as Design Director," Ross opened on Twitter. "That's all I can say other than I'm thrilled with the project, and especially the team of really wonderful people. I will become a Seattleite this Summer. Also - come work with me." Earlier this year, Ross stressed that he's done with Days Gone and has no plans or vested interest in a sequel. "I've moved on," he said. But as for what he's working on now, it's not entirely clear. It could be Perfect Dark, Tomb Raider, or something else entirely, but speculation has already begun to run rampant.
He announced the news while also sharing a job calling from Crystal Dynamics asking for art directors, enemy designers, accountants, animators, producers, UX designers, and much more.
He left Sony two years ago amidst the rejection of a Days Gone sequel, sparking internal conflict and debate - the game underperformed critically and sales-wise for Sony, hence the lack of a follow-up, but the celebration of other new IPs like Ghost of Tsushima left Ross to say that "local studio management always made us feel like [Days Gone] was a big disappointment."
A new Tomb Raider is in the works, using the newly released Unreal Engine 5, but Crystal Dynamics is also working on a Perfect Dark reboot with developer The Initiative. It's up in the air right now which team Ross will be helping.