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[yurinka]

More than half of WWS/PlayStation Studios’ lifetime studio closures have been under his leadership.

Firewalk Studio
Neon Koi
Pixelopus
London Studio
Japan Studio creative teams
Studio Cambridge / Guerrilla Cambridge
Manchester Studio

Japan Studio was not shut down, it was restructured and split into Team Asobi (internal 1st party development) and XDEV Japan (publishing and support of Asian 2nd party games).

And he acquired:
Bungie
Bluepoint
Housemarque
Nixxes
Firesprite
Haven
Valkyrie

Plus created the Creative Arts Malaysia studio and highly grew ND, SSM, Guerrilla, Bungie (and later reduced) or (they now have 4 offices) Polyphony

All of their GAAS trash projects will fail. @Men_in_Boxes thoughts?

Gran Turismo 7, MLB The Show, Helldivers 2 and Destiny 2 aren't fails at all.

 

[Schmendrick]

the term Schadenfreude was rarely more applicable than here

 

[EDMIX]

The team was closed as the game was an unmitigated financial disaster.

But it is quite clear much of the 'talent' will be reshuffled into existing studios.

yea but, I agree, it was a financial disaster as to why they are closed, the talented developers who didn't lead the project, they should be placed in other studios and the rest of leadership let go.

Of all the issues I saw with this title, I didn't see much with the actual quality of the actual assets, it would be dumb to let staff go based on the mistakes of leadership and it would be weird to talk shit and trash people who lost their jobs, you'd just have another fucking story to post tons of threads over like "WOW Sony THROWING hard working families under THE BUS" lol

I have no clue how attacking the people who just got fired was suppose to help Sony and they have no history of every doing that to act shocked here. Are you suggesting you are upset cause 100% of all of them didn't lose their jobs? smh

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

yea but, I agree, it was a financial disaster as to why they are closed, the talented developers who didn't lead the project, they should be placed in other studios and the rest of leadership let go.

Of all the issues I saw with this title, I didn't see much with the actual quality of the actual assets, it would be dumb to let staff go based on the mistakes of leadership and it would be weird to talk shit and trash people who lost their jobs, you'd just have another fucking story to post tons of threads over like "WOW Sony THROWING hard working families under THE BUS" lol

I have no clue how attacking the people who just got fired was suppose to help Sony and they have no history of every doing that to act shocked here. Are you suggesting you are upset cause 100% of all of them didn't lose their jobs? smh

The devs were so up their own asses when Concord were released and were extremely defensive over design choices in the game.

 

[Wishmaster92]

Dicks out for “the professor” everybody. I’ll pour one out

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Gran Turismo 7, MLB The Show, Helldivers 2 and Destiny 2 aren't fails at all.

Two are legacy IPs from the PS1 era, one is from a bought out company in the toilet with two layoffs and shifting employees to SIE, and one is a giant success from the first game 8 years ago.

The rest of their new ideas have been shaky:

- Firewalk studios and Concord dead
- Deviation studios and their game dead (didnt even release it)
- Neon Koi studio and their game dead (didnt even release it)
- Factions 2 dead
- Any other games in those leaks that arent happening anymore

Right now, on the horizon are Marathon and Fairgames which are 2025/2026 games I'd assume.

 

[Astray]

and one is a giant success from the first game 8 years ago.

Helldivers 1 was by no means a giant success rofl.

 

[Topher]

Not sure if anyone posted this....from Hermen Hulst...

*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.

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...

sonyinteractive.com

 

[Alebrije]

Must recognice that Even on dead they never left their bubble , Concord will be foerever great Game on their minds

 

[yogaflame]

Lesson learned and also lesson to stop forcing and pushing for twisted woke agenda especially those with twisted gender ideology. By the way if Sony is really desperate to have a live service or GAAS, why don't use there existing franchise titles like Killzone, Resistance and Socom.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Helldivers 1 was by no means a giant success rofl.

Ya. H2 was a giant success compared to the first game.

 

[Fabieter]

Japan Studio was not shut down, it was restructured and split into Team Asobi (internal 1st party development) and XDEV Japan (publishing and support of Asian 2nd party games).

And he acquired:
Bungie
Bluepoint
Housemarque
Nixxes
Firesprite
Haven
Valkyrie

Plus created the Creative Arts Malaysia studio and highly grew ND, SSM, Guerrilla, Bungie (and later reduced) or (they now have 4 offices) Polyphony



Gran Turismo 7, MLB The Show, Helldivers 2 and Destiny 2 aren't fails at all.

He fired alot of the devs of Japan studios. Haven't is gonna shut down next and bungie was probably a worse aquisition than firewalk. There are two net positive buyouts for them Housemarque and blue point.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

After being deflected by Bioware's defensive shield, we needed a decisive victory to keep momentum.

Hermen has one life bar left, though.

 

[Represent.]

Japan Studio was not shut down, it was restructured and split into Team Asobi (internal 1st party development) and XDEV Japan (publishing and support of Asian 2nd party games).

And he acquired:
Bungie
Bluepoint
Housemarque
Nixxes
Firesprite
Haven
Valkyrie

Plus created the Creative Arts Malaysia studio and highly grew ND, SSM, Guerrilla, Bungie (and later reduced) or (they now have 4 offices) Polyphony



Gran Turismo 7, MLB The Show, Helldivers 2 and Destiny 2 aren't fails at all.

Not one new IP in there.

All of the new ones fail miserably and their studios get shut down. The only GAAS trash people want to play are in already established franchises, which is why they are a poor investment nowadays. You will fail unless you're already known. People can only invest so much time.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Must recognice that Even on dead they never left their bubble , Concord will be foerever great Game on their minds

Well, you know video game companies.

Pats on the back and morale boosting to the extreme. Even when a game studio wastes everyone's time and money, they still got to get in a last jab proving to the world they still did a job well done. Got to ensure nobody at the studio goes into chronic depression when they apply for unemployment insurance.

I will credit Sony/Firewalk for refunding people's money. You dont see that often. I think even disc buyers might had been able to get refunds, which is rare. So at least they didnt rip people off taking their $40.

 

[Shane89]

???
How is it not Firewalk's fault? This game was the reason why Sony bought them in the first place. Sony didn't force them to make a GaaS title. They just invested heavily into what the studio was already doing.

Sony chose to buy them exactly for the GaaS reason and i'm pretty sure they funded the game way before the acquisition. They bought it in April 2023, a bit more than 1 year ago, they surely didn't put 400M $ in a single year lol

 

[Fabieter]

Likely hermen hulst tried his best to salvage that team of woke untalented activists by giving them few weeks to switch game to f2p model, and even there they failed miserably, which was 100% expected from all of us, sane ppl

He probably tried to save face as hard as he could.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I

Yeah Sony is ruthless with cases like these.

if only they were ruthless with the quality of the companies they acquire.

 

[JusticeForAll]

Good riddance. Use the talent that is there elsewhere. Likely not everyone who worked on this train wreck was useless, so I hope they ging l find their way towards a valuable project.

 

[yogaflame]

Bring back Japan Studio

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Let this be a lesson to those coming after. Live service arena is a dangerous business, this shit should have never got this far.

Someone at Sony fucked up big time, was it our boy Jimbo? Maybe this makes more sense in hindsight. I defended him as I liked to laugh at his gifs and he guided a launch through a pandemic successfully, maybe he did fly to close to the sun after all.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

Let this be a lesson to those coming after. Live service arena is a dangerous business, this shit should have never got this far.

Someone at Sony fucked up big time, was it our boy Jimbo? Maybe this makes more sense in hindsight. I defended him as I liked to laugh at his gifs and he guided a launch through a pandemic successfully, maybe he did fly to close to the sun after all.

Hopefully info comes out from this, I always heard it was Hermen championing this pos, which is incredibly fucking frustrating given how much fun Kz2/Kz3 Mp's were.

 

[CLW]

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Hopefully info comes out from this, I always heard it was Hermen championing this pos.

Yes that was the rumour but Jim was in charge when Firewalk was purchased?

We will probably never know but I love having GAF to gossip

 

[CityHunter1981]

That’s so sad…

I was hoping it comes back as F2P and we can all have another laugh at it, when it still doesn’t do better…

 

[nowhat]

Guys.

Our Gravity Queen is proud of you.

Great job.

There still won't be a Gravity Rush sequel.

 

[Bert Big Balls]

Keep shutting these studios down. Send a message. The people want fun games to escape into, not political-stuffed bland bullshit made by talentless freaks.

 

[FoxMcChief]

it's way worse.

we know Sony does a lot of market research and focus testing. The game, aside from the drama, is completely creatively bankrupt; this speaks not only of the studio but of PlayStation as an institution.

Pretty much. Both PS and Xbox just doing their absolute worst this generation, imo. The quality and output from both is just mediocre at best.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Likely hermen hulst tried his best to salvage that team of woke untalented activists by giving them few weeks to switch game to f2p model, and even there they failed miserably, which was 100% expected from all of us, sane ppl

He probably tried to save face as hard as he could.

No doubt he did.

No wonder it took two months to finalize Firewalk's fate. Despite a trainwreck game, they still had meetings to discuss what happens next. Thats why that Firewalk/Concord tweet when servers shut down was vague and everyone was trying to figure out if it'll return or not as F2P.

Well, looks like anyone who thought they trying again was right. They discussed and decided it's not worth the hassle and costs to try again. And that is the correct decision. Though a better decision in Sept would be to just close it up right away.

But workers lucked out. They probably got a couple more months of pay sitting on the sidelines while execs discussed. If they were already gassed or transitioned to SIE in Sept, you would had heard about it already through leaks.

 

[EDMIX]

The devs were so up their own asses when Concord were released and were extremely defensive over design choices in the game.

sure, its their game though...

That doesn't mean any publisher is going to slander a whole studio post closer. I don't see anything with the designs to even get triggered over, I don't even buy THAT solely is why that game failed, as those of us who even didn't care about any of that shit, still didn't play the game, but none of that supports an idea of Sony attacking a studio after people lost their jobs.

"The devs" is a select few you are talking about, that is not 100% of all involved with this game as I think many here need to take a step back on this and realize you are not talking about HUNDREDS of people as if every last person who worked on it is telling you this or something odd like this lol So this whole "The devs" nahhh, a developer who worked there, a person who worked there, make that at least make sense as it sound like you want them to release some negative statement about the whole studio or something.

So I get you dislike the game or developer, i don't know if that bias is enough to support what you entertained earlier

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Pretty much. Both PS and Xbox just doing their absolute worst this generation, imo. The quality and output from both is just mediocre at best.

It used to be COD was the bad influence in gaming.... mtx, $15 map packs, same shooter every year with different maps etc....

It's not COD anymore. It's lucrative Fortnite and hero shooters that are GAAS bullseyes. You even got games like Xdefiant and DA Veilguard making box art that looks Fortnitey.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Not sure if anyone posted this....from Hermen Hulst...

*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.

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...

sonyinteractive.com

So they learned nothing. Right on Sony.

 

[ZehDon]

I feel sorry for the developers at Firewalk who tried to right the ship before being shouted down into submission, forced to quietly wait for today to inevitably arrive. Heading into the holidays, in an industry already facing near-record lay offs, in an economy best described as "slathered in napalm". They lost their jobs not because they didn't turn up, do their work, or give their all. They lost their jobs because the inmates gestated a culture of fear to silence anyone who dared question them after they took over the asylum. How do you explain your input on this... thing to prospective employers? What do you even put on your resume to explain the last four years of your life? You are forever shackled to the largest flop in entertainment history, a permanent blight on your carreer, all so that a bunch of hacks could pretend they were game developers. I hope those devs have the support they need, because the next few months are going to be rough, and they didn't do anything to deserve it.

 

[Nonehxc]

I'm deivastated

FTFY my Lord

 

[Imtjnotu]

 

[Dictattor]

 

[ByWatterson]

Literally shaking

 

[ResilientBanana]

I keep hoping that 'woke aesthetic' will run its course and these publishers/devs will get back to making games that actually look good.

The hard part about that is that I think it’s an uphill battle. A lot of creative people tend to be LGBTQ. Now, that’s just my assumption and speculation, but it’s very common among the art scene. You can’t simply just tell them no.

 

[Elios83]

There was zero chance of Concord being turned into f2p with such a tainted reputation.
The only other option they possibly explored was to turn Firewalk into a support studio but probably the costs were too high vs the benefits hence the closure.

They have tons of lessons to learn, it's pointless to simply chase trends but being years late into overcrowded markets/genres.
They need to understand that all the forced DEI stuff is now a minefield detached from what actual gamers want to see.
They need to completely rethink how they market this stuff.
They can't use State of Plays or other events watched mostly by a target audience interested into single player games to announce these games. Either they can bring something for everyone or this multiplayer titles will become the hate target of their own frustrated audience. The Concord marketing was completely botched.
That long CGI trailer that seemed to have the purpose to let people dream about what it could have been as a single player game followed by the reality of a bland looking Overwatch clone with shitty characters, what were they thinking
They need to learn, hopefully in time for Marathon and Fairgames.

 

[Silver Wattle]

 

[Jigsaah]

Hope they land on their feet....somewhere outside the gaming industry

 

[[Sigma]]

Hermen Hulst should have been fired alongside them.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

So they learned nothing. Right on Sony.

Getting out of GaaS entirely isn’t learning, HD2 was a massive success and Marathon will be too

If you’re going to make a GaaS game, make it unique and appealing

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Hermen Hulst should have been fired alongside them.

Why?

If you’re going to blame him for Concord, why not crown him for three GOTY quality exclusives this year and multiple other good quality exclusives ?

 

[Schmendrick]

was a massive success and Marathon will be too

Bet you were one of the guys touting Concord as "the future of PS", too.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

 

[balls of snow]

I still have a few gameplay clips of the Concord beta saved on my ps5. Guess Im backing that up to my laptop when the pro comes.

 

[Topher]

The hard part about that is that I think it’s an uphill battle. A lot of creative people tend to be LGBTQ. Now, that’s just my assumption and speculation, but it’s very common among the art scene. You can’t simply just tell them no.

Studios closing and people getting laid off are what happens on the other side of not being told "no". These guys need to make games that people want to buy. If that's an uphill battle then they are going to find it hard to pay bills.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

"If YoU dOnT LiKe iT dOnT BuY It!!!!!!!"

And we didnt and look what happened....what now fuckface?

 

[Begleiter]

Why?

If you’re going to blame him for Concord, why not crown him for three GOTY quality exclusives this year and multiple other good quality exclusives ?

Someone has to take responsibility for failing to recognise they had a massive flop on their hands and that all the warning signs were ignored. Concord was a very high profile failure, and even if it's just symbolic there's an expectation that a resignation should follow.

We also know a lot of money has been wasted on a number of GaaS titles that got binned on Bungie's say so, so there's a real chance he's lost the company more money than he ever made it.