Sony shuts down Concord developer Firewalk Studios

On August 23, Sony launched the team-based hero shooter Concord and just 10 days later it shut it down. The game struggled to attract players, as demand and interest in hero shooters dwindled. On Steam, the game never hit more than 700 players, according to SteamDB.

The developers shut down the game on September 6th saying it “did not land as we’d intended.” Refunds were issued to players who purchased the $40 game on PC and PlayStation 5.

In an internal email released today, it was announced that Sony has decided to permanently shutter Firewalk Studios, the game’s developer, effectively killing Concord forever.

Concord is officially no more

Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall

Sony/Pocket-Lint

The internal email Sony posted was from Hermen Hulst, CEO of PlayStation Interactive. The letter announced the closure of Firewalk Studios, the developer of Concord, and Neon Koi, one of Sony’s mobile game studios.

“We have spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options,” says Hulst in the internal email. “After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio. I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.”

Neon Koi was a mobile game development studio supposedly working on an AAA mobile action game. Hulst says the mobile game space remains a priority, but it is refocusing its approach to be more in line with “PlayStation Studios’ pedigree” to reach more players globally.

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Over 200 people will lose their jobs as a result of the closures

This is yet another blow for the battered video games industry

Sony

Hulst says Sony will work to help find replacement work at its other studios for those impacted by both studio’s closures, but, unfortunately, it seems like some developers at both studios will lose their jobs. According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, 210 people will be losing their jobs, with over 170 coming from Firewalk Studios.

The video game industry has suffered huge layoffs this year already. In May, Microsoft announced the closure of three of its studios, and attributed the shutdowns to “reprioritization of titles and resources.” The industry continues to be on a slippery slope.

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