Image: PlayStation Studios
Concord will not return, and neither will its studio.
Developer Firewalk Studios is officially shutting down following the disastrous launch of its first-person shooter Concord. Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the news alongside another studio closure: that of a mobile-focused developer called Neon Koi, which never even got to put out its first game. As a result of Firewalk Studios’ closure, Concord will remain permanently offline.
Sony shutters Concord developer Firewalk Studios permanently
Sony Interactive Entertainment has officially shut down Firewalk Studios, the game developer behind the unsuccessful sci-fi hero shooter Concord. This was announced via a blog post on Sony’s website, which published an internal email penned by Sony Interactive Entertainment head Hermen Hulst. In the email, Hulst confirmed that Firewalk Studios would be shutting down along with another studio under the Sony umbrella: Neon Koi.
Hulst wrote:
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.
Neon Koi was focused on making a “mobile action game” for Sony, but Hulst wrote that “While mobile remains a priority growth area for the Studio Business, we are in the very early stage of our mobile efforts” and the company needs to “concentrate on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally.” Hence, the studio is shutting down and its game will not be moving forward.
As for Concord, Hulst wrote that “certain aspects of Concord were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline.” While Sony apparently “spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options,” which might have included bringing the game back in a different form or moving Firewalk to work on other projects. The company eventually “determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio.”
According to Hulst, Sony “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.” While Concord is now set to remain offline permanently, the game will still make a now poorly-timed appearance in Amazon’s upcoming game anthology series Secret Level.