Firewalk, the American game development studio that was established just six years ago by Activision and Bungie veterans before being acquired by PlayStation in April 2023, is permanently shutting down following the failure of Concord—the first-person hero shooter that launched for each PS5 and Windows PCs in August but performed so badly that it was shut down by Sony a mere two weeks after launch, with all sold copies refunded—in accordance with an internal email that Hermen Hulst distributed yesterday to Sony Interactive Entertainment employees. Hulst, who now serves because the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group, also revealed that Neon Koi, one among Sony’s mobile game studios, is being shut down as well despite not having released a game yet. See below for Hulst’s full email, which incorporates a note about how closing Firewalk was “one of the best path forward.”
Dear Team,
Today, I would like to share some essential updates from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group.
We consistently evaluate our games portfolio and standing of our projects to make sure we’re meeting near and long-term business priorities. As a part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen SIE’s Studio Business, now we have needed to make a difficult decision referring 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 should be strategic, though, in bringing our games to recent platforms and recognize when our games fall wanting meeting player expectations.
While mobile stays a priority growth area for the Studio Business, we’re within the very early stage of our mobile efforts. To attain success on this area we want to think about titles which might be in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to succeed in more players globally.
With this re-focused approach, Neon Koi will close, and its mobile motion game won’t be moving forward. I would like to specific my gratitude to everyone at Neon Koi for his or her exertions and countless passion to innovate.
Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (An Vital Update on Concord), certain elements of Concord were exceptional, but others didn’t land with enough players, and because of this we took the sport offline. We have now spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options.
After much thought, now we have determined one of the best path forward is to permanently sunset the sport and shut the studio. I would like to thank all of Firewalk for his or her craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.
The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s constantly evolving, and unfortunately, we didn’t hit our targets with this title. We’ll take the teachings learned from Concord and proceed to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth on this area.
I do know none of this is simple news to listen to, particularly with colleagues and friends departing SIE. Each decisions got serious thought, and ultimately, we feel they’re the suitable ones to strengthen the organization. Neon Koi and Firewalk were home to many talented individuals, and we are going to work to search out placement for a few of those impacted inside our global community of studios where possible.
I’m a giant believer in the advantages of embracing creative experimentation and developing recent IP. Nonetheless, growing through sustainable financials, especially in a challenged economic environment is critical.
While today is a difficult day, there’s much to look ahead to within the months ahead from the Studio Business Group and our teams. I remain confident that we’re constructing a resilient and capable organization driven by creating unforgettable entertainment experiences for our players.
Thanks on your continued support.
