Firewalk Studios Officially Closing Following Concord's Disastrous Release and Subsequent Shutdown

Sony is shuttering Firewalk Studios in the wake of its disastrous release of Concord, the PS5 shooter that lasted less than two weeks before being shuttered. The news was first reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

Firewalk Studios' closure follows the reported departure of director Ryan Ellis, who stepped down after Concord was taken offline. Sony Interactive Entertainment publicly posted the internal email from Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst with a statement on the closure, which you can read below. Hulst wrote that SIE had "spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options," but ultimately decided to sunset the studio, which it had acquired in April 2023. The email also announces SIE's decision to close Neon Koi, a German studio working on a mobile action game.

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 (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. 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.

A post on LinkedIn from Firewalk Studios said that the studio "began with the idea of bringing the joy of multiplayer to a larger audience." It notes that it began as a new startup in 2018, built a customized FPS engine, and more. The post goes on, "We took some risks along the way – marrying aspects of card battlers and fighting games with first-person-shooters – and although some of these and other aspects of the IP didn’t land as we hoped, the idea of putting new things into the world is critical to pushing the medium forward.

"The talent at Firewalk and the level of individual craft is truly world-class, and teams within Sony Interactive Entertainment and across the industry will be fortunate to work with them. Please reach out to Recruiting at PlayStation for inquiries, and thank you to all the very many teams, partners and fans who supported us along the way."

First released on August 23 for PS5 and PC, Concord struggled at the outset with low concurrents before Sony suddenly announced it was pulling the plug on September 3. We wrote in our postmortem of why Sony's hero shooter failed, "The cost of coming late to the party means you must bring something new to the table. Unfortunately, Concord is neither particularly innovative nor content-heavy."

Analysts, meanwhile, pointed to its weak marketing, high price point, and lack of distinguishing characteristics in the midst of moving an estimated 25,000 units.

"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," Hulst wrote in his email announcing the closure. "We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area."

It's been a difficult year overall for the games industry, which has been rocked by mass layoffs and studio closures as it continues to reckon with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Xbox, EA, Riot, and other publishers have all experienced layoffs in the past year, and Playstation-owned Bungie announced cuts in August impacting around 17 percent of the studio.

Elsewhere, there are signs of trouble for PlayStation's other live service games. Bungie recently posted a lengthy development update video for Marathon that nevertheless noted that it's still too early to show, and Fairgame$ has been mostly MIA since first being revealed in 2023. Sony president Hiroki Totoki has previously said that around six of PlayStation's live service games are expected to be released by March 2026. As for Concord, there was speculation that it might go free-to-play at some point, but with Firewalk's shutdown it appears to be finished for good.

"See you in the Tempest," Firewalk's goodbye post reads before signing off one last time.

Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.