Firewalk Studios has been shut down by Sony, following the failure of its live service hero shooter, Concord. As part of this decision, Concord will be permanently shut down. That’s despite previous discussion about revamping the game in future, and exploring alternative options to “better reach” its intended players.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which shared a message to PlayStation staff penned by Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony’s Studio Business Group, explaining the decision to shutter Firewalk Studios, as well as another studio, the mobile-focussed Neon Koi.
“We have spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options,” Hulst reportedly said. “After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset [Concord] and close the studio. I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.”
Hulst noted Concord did not meet Sony’s expectations, but did teach lessons that will aid the company’s aims to “advance [its] live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area.” Prior to the shuttering of Concord, Sony had announced bold plans to launch around 12 major live service games by 2026. Later, it revised these plans considerably.
Read: Sony has delayed half of its upcoming live service games
Concord launched with major hopes on its back, as Sony angled for it to be the next big multiplayer experience. On launch, it failed to reach a significant audience, and reportedly sold under 25,000 copies – leading to an all-time player peak of 697. Two weeks after launch, Firewalk Studios announced Concord would be taken offline, and reconsidered for a better future.
Now, it appears the game, and its development studio, has reached the end of the line.
In a post on Twitter / X, Firewalk confirmed its closure, thanking players for their support, and outlining the many challenges of its journey through the years. Firewalk was founded in 2018, and Concord was its debut project.
“Firewalk began with the idea of bringing the joy of multiplayer to a larger audience,” the studio said.
“We took some risks along the way – marrying aspects of card battlers and fighting games with first-person-shooters – and although some of these and other aspects of the IP didn’t land as we hoped, the idea of putting new things into the world is critical to pushing the medium forward.”
“The talent at Firewalk and the level of individual craft is truly world-class, and teams within Sony Interactive Entertainment and across the industry will be fortunate to work with them.”
It praised the flexibility of staff in navigating pandemic conditions, building a new game engine, managing acquisitions and integrations, and shipping a “great FPS experience to players” regardless of the fact it “landed much more narrowly than hoped against a heavily consolidated market.”
The shut down of Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi will reportedly impact 210 jobs. Our thoughts are with those now out of work in one of the toughest times for the games industry yet.
