The sudden closure (just two weeks after release) of the hero shooter Concord left the Firewalk Studios team in an unenviable position. The Kotaku portal spoke about the state of affairs in the studio with reference to its informants.
Image Source: PlayStation
According to three Kotaku sources, Concord development lead Ryan Ellis told employees last week that he was stepping down from his role as game director and moving into a supporting role.
«Ryan believed deeply in the project and bringing players together through it. Regardless of whether something could have been done differently … he is a good person with a big heart,” one former Concord developer said of Ellis.
From 2009 to 2016, Ellis (center) worked at Bungie on both Destiny games.
The remaining employees are pessimistic about the prospects: some doubt Concord’s return, others have already been asked to take on projects that Firewalk might work on in the future.
Sources report that Firewalk employees (150-170 people) are waiting for Sony’s decision – be it mass layoffs, closure of the studio, or transfer to the auxiliary category. Some have already started updating their resumes.
Kotaku claims that Firewalk is one of the most expensive studios for Sony in terms of employee costs
Sony acquired Firewalk in 2023 after three years of working on Concord and promoted the game at its presentations. At release, the shooter cost $40 and, according to analysts, reached only 25 thousand copies sold.
Concord launched on August 23 on PC and PS5, and on September 6, Sony turned off the game servers – all buyers were refunded. After the closure, the developers promised to consider different options for further actions.