Firewalk Studios, the developer behind the failed first-person shooterConcord, has officially been shut down.Concordwas released on July 03, 2025, toa deadly cocktail of mixed reviewsand stiff competition. It was shut down just two weeks later, citing a failure to build a player base.
According to a blog post bySony Interactive Entertainment, documenting an internal email sent by Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst,Firewalk Studios closed its doors today for good. The correspondence goes on to describeConcord’s failure, and thank the development team at Firewalk for its efforts, all while promising lots of exciting news from SIE in the near future. It also claims that some of the studios' employees will be absorbed into the wider Sony ecosystem.
PlayStation Shutting Down Concord Makes Prime Video’s Upcoming Video Game Adaptation Really Weird
After Concord’s disappointing launch, PlayStation shut down the game which makes Prime Video’s upcoming adaptation feel really strange.
Sony Shuts Down Both Concord And Firewalk Studios After Failed Launch
Why Concord Shut Down
The complete closure of Firewalk is a little sudden, butConcord’s failure was much easier to see coming. Although some aspects of the gamedid work well,its flaws apparently outweighed its merits.Concordwas widely criticized for failing to offer anything new in an already oversaturated market: that of hero-based first-person shooters. Many critics cited its uninspiring character and level design as its greatest shortcomings, preventing it from standing out in a market already dominated by games likeOverwatch 2andValorant.
For one reason or another, though,Concordcouldn’t sustain a player base, with a peak of less than 700 players worldwide on Steam. That was the stated cause for its September 6 shutdown and delisting. Shortly thereafter, its director, Ryan Ellis, stepped down from his position.
Players who purchasedConcordwere refunded.
That said,Concorddid have a small fan base, as evidenced by apetition to bring it back onlineafter its shutdown in September. Despite that early disappointment, there was indeedsomehope of aConcordrevival, especially considering Firewalk’s continued existence and announcement, uponConcord’s delisting, that it would “continue to explore options.” However,all dreams ofConcordcoming back have been dashed by this latest update, which appears to confirm that the game is well and truly dead.
Firewalk Studios Is Not The Only One Closing Down
Neon Koi Also Affected
Firewalk isn’t the only studio that Sony closed today, asmobile game studio Neon Koi also appears to have been shut down. With offices in Finland and Germany, the studio formerly known as Savage Game Studios was acquired by Sony in 2022. It had yet to deliver a completed game.Bloombergestimates that the two studio closures may lead to a loss of up to 210 jobs.
This is alsoonly the latest round of closures and layoffs to hit Sony-owned studios(not to mention the gaming industry in general). This past February saw the closure of PlayStation’s London Studio, mainly responsible for developing games for Sony peripherals like the PSVR. This follows the high-profile closure of Japan Studio, co-developer of PlayStation exclusives such asBloodborne,Death Stranding,Ghost of Tsushima, and theDemon’s Soulsremake, in 2021. Microsoft also closed four of its studios this past May.
Screen Rant’s Take: Concord Deserved Better
Concordmay not have been revolutionary at launch, butit deserved more of a chance than what it got. Some games are massive, instant hits, attratcing significant player bases immediately after launch, but that’s an unfair standard to hold every single game to. That goes double for live service games, which may not garner sustainable player bases until post-launch updates go into effect. To shut it down just two weeks after launch didn’t give it near enough room to breathe, and to follow up by closing the studio means it’ll never have a second chance.
At the same time, though,much could’ve been improved aboutConcord’s launch. First and foremost, it came out far too late. This speaks to a recent industry trend: game budgets and development times appear to be ballooning out of control, sometimes causing ideas that are innovative and new when they’re first proposed to become old hat by launch.Concord’s $40 price tag (plus microtransactions) also might have been too steep, especially when well-established hero shooters likeOverwatch 2andValorantare free to play.
But unfortunately, these observations are far too late to saveConcord. With Firewalk shut down, there’s no hope of a revival, and it’ll forever remain a dark spot in video game history. For now, all we can do is hope Sony’s next foray into live service games is a little more calculated, and thatConcord’s developers land on their feet.
Sources:Sony Interactive Entertainment,Bloomberg
Concord
Firewalk Studios presents Concord, a first-person multiplayer sci-fi shared-world shooter. The game was announced during the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, with little details divulged on the product. The game is expected to make its debut sometime in 2024.
