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[jm89]

Press Release from SIE about the closures of Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi - https://sonyinteractive.com/en/news/blog/an-update-from-playstation-studios/

Below is an internal email from Hermen Hulst, CEO, Studio Business Group, Sony Interactive Entertainment distributed today to SIE employees.

**********************************************************************************

Dear Team,

Today, I want to share some important updates from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group.

We consistently evaluate our games portfolio and status of our projects to ensure we are meeting near and long-term business priorities. 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.

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 need to be strategic, though, in bringing our games to new platforms and recognize when our games fall short of meeting player expectations.

While mobile remains a priority growth area for the Studio Business, we are in the very early stage of our mobile efforts. To achieve success in this area we need to concentrate on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally.

With this re-focused approach, Neon Koi will close, and its mobile action game will not be moving forward. I want to express my gratitude to everyone at Neon Koi for their hard work and endless passion to innovate.

Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (An Important Update on Concord), 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.

The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s continuously evolving, and unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area.

I know none of this is easy news to hear, particularly with colleagues and friends departing SIE. Both decisions were given serious thought, and ultimately, we feel they are the right ones to strengthen the organization. Neon Koi and Firewalk were home to many talented individuals, and we will work to find placement for some of those impacted within our global community of studios where possible.

I am a big believer in the benefits of embracing creative experimentation and developing new IP. However, growing through sustainable financials, especially in a challenged economic environment is critical.

While today is a difficult day, there is much to look forward to in the months ahead from the Studio Business Group and our teams. I remain confident that we are building a resilient and capable organization driven by creating unforgettable entertainment experiences for our players.  

Thank you for your continued support.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I made this post back in July and just wish I would have guess servers closed in days not months

You preorder to be in the early beta, good games have no problem filling servers with preorder invites only.

Its just my opinion but this is the type of game that gets people fired and a studio closed, servers are shut off inside 12 months

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I'm devastated

 

[Radical_3d]

God. Damnit.

 

[Gonzito]

Another DEI disaster

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

 

[bender]

I'm devastated

 

[adamsapple]

Someone update this

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Jack Videogames]

 

[Kurotri]

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

ArtHands should have been the one to make this thread

 

[Fake]

So long. Never come back.

 

[Revolutionary]

I was gonna say "called it", but I'm pretty sure everyone did as well.

 

[skit_data]

Well, there it is

 

[TrebleShot]

Gone but always forgotten

 

[XXL]

 

[emivita]

 

[alphachino]

OH NO!!!!!

Spoiler

ANYWAY...

 

[pqueue]

$400MM - gone. Like a fart in a hurricane.

also, what happened to F2P-ing it.

guess it was too tainted.

 

[bender]

ArtHands should have been the one to make this thread

Men_in_Boxes is always a bridesmaid and never a bride.

 

[Saber]

Well at least the shooting part of the game was ok, am I right fellas?

Both LoU multiplayer and Concord money were well spent.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

 

[GudOlRub]

 

[Chris23]

So Concord isn't coming back as a f2p shooter, or will it be handed off to another studio?

 

[K' Dash]

I thought they would repurpose it to be FTP and maybe change some of the horrible designs.

I guess it saves them more money to pull the plug instead of trying to sell the Non Binary Robot to people

 

[jm89]

I actually they might try give it another chance as an F2P, looks like they saw the writing on the wall.

 

[Fake]

Another incel win victim.

 

[GrayChild]

 

[Mister Wolf]

Well at least they owned the Chuds. Time to collect their prize.

 

[ManaByte]

So Concord isn't coming back as a f2p shooter, or will it be handed off to another studio?

Bungie has entered the chat.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Damn I forgot that gif

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Another incel win victim.

But only a small one

 

[Punished Miku]

Horrible news. I was hoping they'd stay contained at Sony. Now they're going to scatter and spread to other cells.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

The power of incels.

 

[Auto_aim1]

was/were

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

 

[cormack12]

Professor ain't getting tenure

 

[kaizenkko]

Any news about this game/studio makes me remember that Sony spend lots of money to make fucking Concord.

 

[Kacho]

Holy shit!

 

[Ozriel]

So Concord isn't coming back as a f2p shooter, or will it be handed off to another studio?

It most likely won’t be coming back

 

[Chris23]

Bungie has entered the chat.

Imagine entering the club with Destiny, and exiting with Concord. Oof

 

[Ronin_7]

Employees suffering from executives decisions again.

 

[PauloRoberto]

Anyone who is still surprised does not know how a business work... but the question is: what will happen to whoever allowed concord to be released at THAT state ?!

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

 

[AtomicStarving]

 

[Synastry]

When someone like me that doesn't even play those kind of games thought the character design was god awful you know they had a problem the fact they continue and release the game with such horrible characters what did they expect.

 

[Draugoth]

Go woke go broke

 

[jshackles]

Game keeps delivering