Concord game director Ryan Ellis has reportedly stepped down after the embattled 5v5 shooter was pulled amid seemingly disastrous sales, and staff at developer Firewalk Studios are said to be in limbo as they await Sony's decision on the game's future.
Concord was pulled from sale earlier this month, just two weeks after its launch on PS5 and PC, with Sony offering full refunds to players. In a statement released at the time, Ellis wrote: “While many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognise that other aspects of the game and our initial launch were not as successful as we had hoped.”
Ellis added that Firewalk would “explore options” and “determine the best path forward” once the game was no longer available, but no further statements have been issued since. However, according to Kotaku, Firewalk staff have remained “in limbo” in the two weeks since Concord's closure as they await a decision on the game and the studio's future.
Three sources told Kotaku that employees are “pessimistic” about Concord returning, with some already being asked to explore proposals for what the studio could work on next. Some are said to believe that mass layoffs are in the offing at Sony-owned Firewalk (which employs around 150-170 people), given that the studio is reportedly one of the most expensive under PlayStation’s purview on a per-capita basis.
Kotaku says there's also speculation among staff that Sony might decide to put Firewalk to work co-developing one of its many other first-party projects, though “some” employees have reportedly already preemptively left the studio, while others are waiting to see what a potential severance package might look like before making a decision.
As for Ellis, who previously served as creative director on Destiny 2, he reportedly told staff last week that he would be leaving his current position as game director and moving into a support role. “Ryan believed deeply in that project and bringing players together through the joy of it,” a former developer told Kotaku. “Regardless of whether there are things that could have been done differently during development… he’s a good, heartfelt human being.”
Sony acquired Firewalk last year as part of a massive live services push under former PlayStation boss Jim Ryan. Response to Concord, Firewalk’s debut game, was lukewarm at best; industry analysts estimated it sold fewer than 25,000 copies on PS5 and PC.