Sony is shutting down Firewalk Studios in the wake of the disastrous release of PS5 shooter Concord, which lasted less than two weeks before being shut down. This news was first reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.
The closure of Firewalk Studios follows the reported departure of director Ryan Ellis, who stepped down after Concord went offline. Sony Interactive Entertainment publicly posted an internal email from Studio Business Group CEO Herman Hulst along with a statement on the closure, which you can read below. Hulst wrote that SIE “has spent considerable time over the past few months exploring all of our options,” but ultimately decided to close the studio, which it had acquired, in April 2023. The email also announced SIE's decision to close Neon Koei, a German studio focused on mobile action games.
Dear Team,
Today, I'd like to share some important updates from Sony Interactive Entertainment's Studio Business Group.
We constantly evaluate our game portfolio and the status of our projects to ensure that we are meeting near and long-term business priorities. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen SIE's studio business, we have had to make a difficult decision regarding two of our studios – Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.
Expanding beyond PlayStation devices and creating engaging online experiences alongside our single-player games are key focal points for us as we grow our revenue streams. However, we need to be strategic in bringing our games to new platforms and recognize when our games no longer meet players' expectations.
While mobile remains a priority growth area for the studio business, we are in the early stages of our mobile efforts. To achieve success in this area we need to focus on titles that are consistent with PlayStation Studios' lineage and have the potential to reach more players globally.
With this re-focused approach, Neon will no longer be shut down, and its mobile action games will no longer be able to move forward. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone at Neon Koi for their hard work and endless passion to innovate.
Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (a significant update on Concorde), some aspects of Concorde were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline. We have spent a lot of time over the last few months exploring all our options.
After much consideration, we have decided that the best path forward is to permanently shut down the game and close the studio. I would like to thank everyone at Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.
The PvP first-person shooter genre is a competitive space that is constantly evolving, and unfortunately, we didn't reach our goal with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concorde and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area.
I know none of this news is easy to hear, especially with colleagues and friends who are leaving SIE. Both decisions were seriously considered and ultimately, we feel they are the right decisions to strengthen the organization. Neon Koi and Firewalk were home to many talented individuals, and where possible we will work to find placement for some of those affected within our global community of studios.
I'm a big believer in the benefits of embracing creative experimentation and developing new IP. However, achieving growth through sustainable financing is critical, especially in a challenging economic environment.
Although today is a difficult day, Studio Business Group and our teams have much to look forward to in the coming months. I am confident that we are building a resilient and capable organization by creating unforgettable entertainment experiences for our players.
Thank you for your continued support.
A post on LinkedIn from Firewalk Studios states that the studio “began with the idea of bringing the joy of multiplayer to a larger audience.” It notes that it started as a new startup in 2018, built an optimized FPS engine, and more. The post continues, “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 well as we hoped, the idea Putting new things into the world is important to keep the medium moving forward.
“The level of talent and individual craft at Firewalk is truly world-class, and Sony Interactive Entertainment and the teams across the industry will be fortunate to work with them. Please contact Recruiting at PlayStation for enquiries, and thanks to everyone very much. The teams, partners and fans who supported us along the way.”
First released on August 23 for PS5 and PC, Concorde initially struggled with low concurrency issues, before Sony suddenly announced it was pulling the plug on September 3. We wrote in our postmortem on why Sony's hero shooter failed, “The price of being late to the party means you have to bring something new to the table, unfortunately, Concord is neither particularly innovative nor content- It's heavy.”
Meanwhile, analysts pointed to its weak marketing, high price point and lack of distinctive features among the estimated 25,000 units moved.
“The PvP first-person shooter genre is a competitive space that is constantly evolving, and unfortunately, we did not reach our goal with this title,” Hulst wrote in his email announcing the closure. “We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this region.”
It has been a difficult year overall for the games industry, which has been hit by mass layoffs and studio closures as it is still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Xbox, EA, Riot and other publishers have experienced layoffs in the past year, and PlayStation-owned Bungie announced cuts in August, affecting about 17 percent of the studio.
Elsewhere, there are signs of trouble for PlayStation's other live service games. Bungie recently posted a lengthy development update video for Marathon, saying it was still too early to show off, and has been mostly MIA since it was first revealed in FairGame$ 2023. Sony president Hiroki Totoki previously said that approximately six PlayStation Live Service games are expected to be released by March 2026. As for Concorde, there was speculation that it might go free-to-play at some point, but the closure of Firewalk seems to put an end to that forever.
Firewalk's goodbye post before signing off for the last time reads, “See you in the Tempest.”
Kat Bailey is IGN's news director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have any tips? Send him a DM at @the_katbot.