Sony officially puts Concord in the grave & shuts down developer Firewalk Studios

As a long-time gaming enthusiast who has seen the rise and fall of numerous titles, I must admit that the news about Concord feels like a gut punch. The game had immense potential, but it seems like Sony and Firewalk Studios couldn’t quite hit the bullseye.


In a bid to make Concord the next major project for their studio, Sony acquired Firewalk Studios. However, the game only lasted for fewer than two weeks before it was closed down. Now, after around two months without any news, Sony has decided to close down Firewalk Studios as an effort to recover their financial losses.

It’s uncertain exactly how much money Concord ended up losing Sony, but it’s clear that they didn’t profit at all since all game purchases were refunded when the servers were closed down. Reports suggest that it cost Concord anywhere between 200 and 400 million dollars to develop the game.

Instead of reviving Concord or creating another title under the same gifted team, they’ve opted to dismantle Firewalk Studios entirely, about a year and half following their acquisition. As a fan, it’s a bit disappointing to see such talent dispersed.

In a recent internal communication, Herman Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Business Studios, shared that while some parts of Concord were outstanding, others did not resonate strongly with enough players. Consequently, the game was temporarily removed from service. Over the last few months, he and his team have diligently examined various possibilities to improve the game experience.

Sony officially puts Concord in the grave & shuts down developer Firewalk Studios

After careful consideration, it appears that the most suitable course of action is to retire the game permanently and shut down our studio. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone at Firewalk for their skill, creativity, and unwavering commitment.

It’s been affirmed by Hulst that Concord, the game, has indeed ceased operation, and there are no plans for its revival, contrary to some rumors suggesting a comeback. Essentially, they’ve chosen to write off the investment and proceed towards new ventures.

Nevertheless, Hulst maintains that Sony intends to strengthen their commitment to the live service model, even though they haven’t had much success in this particular market.

In simpler terms, the person speaking was talking about how the competitive first-person shooter games (like PvP) are always changing and improving. Unfortunately, our latest game, Concord, didn’t meet our expectations. However, we will use the knowledge gained from Concord to enhance our live service offerings and continue growing in this genre in the future.

In this email, there was no information about whether their episode in Secret Levels will be discontinued or not. Consequently, it seems that this is its final appearance on the Amazon show at present.

Firewalk Studios indicated that they would be taking their leave “for good,” and in a heartfelt message to the game’s players, expressed pride in their achievements, acknowledging that although the outcome was not as desired, they were still proud of what they managed to accomplish.

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2024-10-29 21:48