Firewalk Studios is no more. PlayStation co-CEO Hermen Hulst said in a statement that the maker behind the AAA hero shooter Concord, following a recent historic flop, is being closed after "exploring all our options." Firewalk Studios was acquired by Sony in 2023 as a part of its ongoing live-service expansion.
The five versus five multiplayer shooter launched across PC and PlayStation 5 platforms in August, but quickly, it was clear that not many people were interested in jumping into the $40 game. As Steam player numbers dwindled to below 100 a week after release, reports indicated that the game had only sold around 25,000 copies across all platforms.
On September 3, Sony shut down servers for the game and offered refunds for anyone who had purchased a copy. Later in the month, Concord creative director Ryan Ellis reportedly stepped down from his position.
"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," Hulst said frankly in today"s statement. "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."
He added that Sony and the studio did not hit the correct targets that are needed to succeed in the competitive space that is the PvP shooter market. "We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area," he adds.
Alongside Firewalk Studios, Sony is also closing Neon Koi, its mobile game development studio that has been developing an action game. The studio was acquired into Sony"s PlayStation Studios umbrella as a part of its new mobile division in 2022 when it was named Savage Game Studios. The unnamed mobile project has also been canceled.