PlayStation shuts down triple-A studio after one of the most disastrous launches of all time
PLAYSTATION has broken records this year, unfortunately it’s for all of the wrong reasons.
The Sony-owned Firewalk Studios released its first-person PvP shooter Concord following around eight years of development.
The game saw a low number of sales and players, likely due to minimal marketing and the saturation of the hero shooter market.
PlayStation broke records following Concord’s launch, shutting down the game just two weeks after its release.
While there have been plenty of live-service failures, this is the fastest a game has ever gone from launch to closure.
Sony wrote: “While we determine the best path ahead, Concord sales will cease immediately and we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased the game for PS5 or PC.”
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People were speculating what would happen to Concord, with many believing that it would release at a later date as a free-to-play game.
The most popular live-service games are all free to play, so a relaunch seemed like the natural step forward for the shooter.
However, PlayStation has now decided the ‘best path ahead’ is to shut down Firewalk Studios, alongside Neon Koi, a studio that was developing a mobile game for PlayStation.
In a blog, PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst wrote: “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.
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“Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September, 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.”
Hulst further explains that he believes that the competitive market for the genre is the main reason why Concord “did not hit our targets”.
Crash Land
Whenever a game fails to meet a publisher’s lofty expectations in the gaming industry, it feels as if the company immediately looks to the studio to start placing the blame.
With Concord many people pointed at the poor marketing as a key factor in its failure, as well as the choice to not make it free to play.
Despite these issues falling with PlayStation, it seems the company has decided to pass the buck onto the developers.
Hopefully, more studios will follow in Ubisoft’s footsteps, where the publisher tried to place developers from Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on other games that play to their strengths.
If you want to read more about upcoming games, check out our Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered review.
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