Sony Shuts Down Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi After Concord's Disastrous Launch, 210 Job Losses

Oct 29, 2024, 06:15 PM

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the closure of Firewalk Studios, the developer behind the PS5 shooter game Concord. The decision comes after Concord's disastrous launch in August, which saw the game taken offline less than two weeks after its release due to poor sales and reception. Firewalk Studios, which was acquired by Sony in 2023, will be permanently shut down, resulting in the loss of 172 jobs. Additionally, Sony has also decided to close Neon Koi, a mobile game developer based in the Seattle-area, leading to a total of 210 job losses, including 38 employees from Neon Koi. The development deal for Concord at Firewalk Studios was reportedly worth $200 million. Sony stated that it had spent considerable time exploring all options before determining that the best path forward was to permanently sunset Concord and close Firewalk Studios. Herman Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, commented on the closures.