Sony is shutting up Firewalk Studios, the video game developer behind the PlayStation exclusive, Concord, which received an overwhelmingly negative reception at launch and was taken offline in September because of that. In addition, Hermen Hulst, CEO of PS studio business group, also announced that Neon Koi, a mobile game studio, would be shuttered permanently.
“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.”
Firewalk is signing off one last time.
Firewalk began with the idea of bringing the joy of multiplayer to a larger audience. Along the way we assembled an incredible team who were able to:
– Navigate growing a new startup into a team during a global pandemic: Firewalk was…— Firewalk (@FirewalkStudios) October 29, 2024
To quickly recap, Concord was released on 23 August, to an ice-cold reception for a variety of reasons. At its peak, the game had less than 700 players – 697 concurrent players, to be precise – and that was on Steam. Two later, on 6 September, Firewalk Studio announced that it was pulling the plug on the first, and now the only game it has ever made.
Bloomberg says that the shutdown of the studios would affect 210 jobs between the two studios.
(Source: Sony Interactive, The Verge, Bloomberg)
