Sony has announced that it’s shutting down Firewalk Studio, the developer of the ill-fated Concord, slightly over a year and a half after purchasing the team for an undisclosed amount.
Firewalk wasn’t the only studio to be shuttered though, as Sony also confirmed that the closure of Neon Koi. Previously known as Savage Studio, Neon Koi was bought in 2022 and has not released a single game in that time.
“We consistently evaluate our games portfolio and status of our projects to ensure we are meeting near and long-term business priorities.” read the official statement from Hermen Hulst. “As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen SIE’s Studio Business, we have had to make a difficult decision relating to two of our studios – Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.”
Addressing Neon Koi specifically, Sony’s statement had this to say: “While mobile remains a priority growth area for the Studio Business, we are in the very early stage of our mobile efforts. To achieve success in this area we need to concentrate on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally. “
As for Firewalk Studio, it’s closure perhaps isn’t a surprise given the monumental failure of Concord. The hero-shooter was reported to have been in development for 8 years and apparently cost some $400 million to make across Sony and Firewalk’s previous own ProbablyMonsters. Kotaku is now reporting that the figure is closer to $200 million, although that number is likely far higher as it doesn’t include a few factors.
At launch Concord struggled to draw any players, failing to reach even 1000 players on Steam. Those numbers dropped rapidly. And then IGN reported that the game had sold a miserable 25,000 copies in its first week on sale.
Less than two weeks after launching, Concord was shut down and Sony issued refunds to everyone who bought it. However, at the time Sony and Firewalk said they would consider ways of bringing Concord back, with many assuming this meant that it might be turned into a free-to-play title.
That isn’t to be though, as Sony has confirmed Concord is being “sunsetted” and will not be returning.
“Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (An Important Update on Concord), certain aspects of Concord were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline. We have spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options.”
“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.”
Regardless of Concord’s failure and how you feel about the game, it always sucks to see people losing their jobs and it’s a shame that we’ll never get to see if Firewalk Studio had anything else in the tank. Just getting to do a single project before being shuttered is harsh, but in this case understandable: if the reports are accurate, Concord was in development for far too long and cost way too much, chasing trends that had peaked long before.
As for Neon Koi, it’s a shame they never got to release even one project.
