Update: Fire walking “signed one last time” with a statement confirming its closure.
In it, the studio noted many of its accomplishments, from growing its team during the pandemic to development Concord on Unreal Engine 4 (and later Unreal Engine 5), and “ultimately delivering and offering players a fantastic FPS experience, even if it came in much narrower than hoped against a heavily established market.”
“We took some risks along the way, [like] marrying aspects of card battles and fighting games with first-person shooters,” Firewalk continued. “While some of these and other aspects of the IP didn't pan out as we hoped, the idea of introducing new things to the world is essential for pushing the vehicle forward. […] Thank you to all the many teams, partners and fans who have supported us along the way.”
Original story: Sony it is closure Firewalking studies and Neon Koi, both acquired years earlier. A Sony spokesperson said so later Bloomberg that 210 roles were eliminated across the two studios, most of which came from Firewalk.
The first has developed Concorda sci-fi shooter that was stop down two weeks after its late August launch on PlayStation 5 and PC. After the game closed, reports stated that director Ryan Ellis had stepped down from a leadership role and that Firewalk's overall future he was uncertain. In its letter, PlayStation highlighted “certain aspects”. Concord it worked, but closing the studio was the “best path forward.”
“I want to thank everyone at Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication,” wrote Herman Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. “Unfortunately we did not achieve our goals with this title. We will take advantage of the lessons learned Concord and continue to enhance our live service capabilities to ensure future growth in this area.”
Neon Koi and Sony's mobile plans
Neon Koimeanwhile, is the developer formerly known as Savage Game Studios. PlayStation he acquired it in 2022 with the aim of increasing its presence in mobile gaming, and following the rebranding, Neon Koi said it was developing an unannounced action game. Over the past year, Neon Koi has been losing CEO Michael Katkoff and general manager Sophie Koand PlayStation lost its VP of mobile Nicola Sebastiani.
Hulst said the mobile phone market “remains a priority growth area,” but we recognized that PlayStation was “in the very early stages of our mobile efforts. To achieve success in this area we must focus on titles that align with PlayStation Studios' pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally.”
Similar to Firewalk, he expressed “gratitude to everyone at Neon Koi for their hard work and endless passion for innovation.”
The closure of both studios comes months after that of PlayStation fired nearly 900 workerswhich included the closure of his London studio. Following these layoffs, SIE vice president of platform experience Hideaki Nishino said that the eliminations would help PlayStation grow and “invest in the future.”
