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[Kotaku] Concord Director Steps Down As Studio Behind Historic PlayStation Flop Waits For Sony's Decision

HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
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DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
dammit, those are some big shoes to fill. Who will step up and lead Concord to its glorious comeback?

Thought this was the interesting bit:
But for many within the studio, it’s still not clear what will come next, three sources told Kotaku. They are pessimistic Concord will return, and some have been asked to explore pitches for something completely different that Firewalk, which is currently around 150-170 employees, might work on next. Speculation among some staff has also included whether the studio could be used as co-development on one of Sony’s myriad other first-party projects currently in production.

Others, however, feel like mass layoffs will be the most likely result of Concord’s failure, including the possible shutdown of the entire studio, which sources tell Kotaku is one of the more expensive studios in the PlayStation portfolio on a per-head basis. Some developers are updating their resumes and portfolios, a few have already preemptively exited the studio, and others are waiting to see what a potential severance package will look like before deciding what to do next.
 

laynelane

Member
Can you add the pertinent text to the OP? I don't want to give Kotaku a click.

Found another article:

Ryan Ellis told staff at Firewalk Studios last week that he would no longer be serving as game director on Concord and would instead be stepping down into a support role, according to Kotaku.

Citing three sources familiar with the move, the publication says Ellis was emotional when initially speaking to staff after the game’s launch, when it was clear that it was going to be a major failure.

“Ryan deeply believed in that project and bringing players together through the joy in it,” one former developer told Kotaku. “Regardless of there being things that could have been done differently throughout development, he’s a good human, and full of heart.”

Source.

I prefer not to click Kotaku too. Aside from that, "he's a good human" just sounds...weird.
 
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Others, however, feel like mass layoffs will be the most likely result of Concord’s failure, including the possible shutdown of the entire studio, which sources tell Kotaku is one of the more expensive studios in the PlayStation portfolio on a per-head basis. Some developers are updating their resumes and portfolios, a few have already preemptively exited the studio, and others are waiting to see what a potential severance package will look like before deciding what to do next.
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Saber

Member
Hopefully Firewalk is next on the chopping list and gaming will heal after that and run it's natural course.

"one of the more expensive studios in the PlayStation portfolio on a per-head basis"

Fucking crazy. lol

Absolute nuts. This is probably a case of internal culture, no way normal people would see all those red flags and see nothing wrong with it.
 
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