Concord Developer Firewalk Studios Shut Down By Sony

UPDATE: According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Sony’s closures of Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi will result in 210 people being let go in total. Firewalk sees 172 people lose their jobs while Neon Koi is another 38.

ORIGINAL: Sony is shutting down Firewalk Studios. The news was first broken by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, and Insider Gaming was quickly able to corroborate with sources.

Sony made the announcement public shortly after the news broke in a message on its official website.

“We consistently evaluate our games portfolio and status of our projects to ensure we are meeting near and long-term business priorities,” PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst said. “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.”  

Hulst says that over the last few months the team at PlayStation explored “all [their] options” regarding the game. Despite those efforts, however, the decision was made to close the studio and sunset the game for good.

“After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio,” he said.  ” I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.”  

He continued: “I know none of this is easy news to hear, particularly with colleagues and friends departing SIE.  Both decisions were given serious thought, and ultimately, we feel they are the right ones to strengthen the organization.”

Concord launched in late August to less than 1,000 players on Steam and roughly 25,000 copies sold. The game was shut down two weeks later with talk of a potential return as a possible free-to-play shooter.

Ultimately, that didn’t happen and Sony has moved on. There was no mention by Sony if all employees will be let go or move to other areas within the company.

Insider Gaming has reached out to Sony for clarification on employment status for those at Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi. There have been nearly 14,000 known jobs lost to layoffs in 2024 within the games industry across nearly 160 companies.

You can read Hulst’s full memo to staff below.

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Dear Team, 

Today, I want to share some important updates from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group.   

We consistently evaluate our games portfolio and status of our projects to ensure 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 relating to two of our studios – Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.  

Expanding beyond PlayStation devices and crafting engaging online experiences alongside our single-player games are key focal areas for us as we evolve our revenue streams.  We need to be strategic, though, in bringing our games to new platforms and recognize when our games fall short of meeting player expectations.   

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.  

With this re-focused approach, Neon Koi will close, and its mobile action game will not be moving forward. I want 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, 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.  

The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s continuously evolving, and unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area.   

I know none of this is easy news to hear, particularly with colleagues and friends departing SIE.  Both decisions were given serious thought, and ultimately, we feel they are the right ones to strengthen the organization.  Neon Koi and Firewalk were home to many talented individuals, and we will work to find placement for some of those impacted within our global community of studios where possible. 

I am a big believer in the benefits of embracing creative experimentation and developing new IP. However, growing through sustainable financials, especially in a challenged economic environment is critical.   

While today is a difficult day, there is much to look forward to in the months ahead from the Studio Business Group and our teams.  I remain confident that we are building a resilient and capable organization driven by creating unforgettable entertainment experiences for our players.   

Thank you for your continued support.