Overnight it was revealed by Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO of the Studio Business Group, Herman Hulst that two studios are closing. Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios, the latter known for Concord, have both been given their notice of closure, which also means that Concord is never coming back.

Back in September, not even two weeks since its launch, PlayStation took Concord offline and advised that they were going to be fixing things, or as they said “explore options, including those that will better reach our players.” It seems that the exploration left no way out, as is explained in the letter below. What makes this a shame is that Firewalk Studios started up and were only bought by Sony a year before Concord launched, the studio may have been able to salvage the game if they released it on their own.

As for Neon Koi, when that studio started up they were Savage Game Studio and their entire purpose was to create new mobile games, a division that PlayStation were aiming to make roads into. PlayStation bought the studio in August 2022, just over 2 years since they were founded and then the studio rebranded in November 2023 to Neon Koi. When the buyout happened, the CEO and Co-Founder at the time, Michail Katkoff said the following:

So why then,” you may be thinking to yourself, “would you join PlayStation Studios?” We made this deal because we believe that PlayStation Studios’ leadership respects our vision for how we can best operate and succeed, and because they too are not afraid to take chances. All of that, plus the ability to potentially tap into PlayStation’s amazing catalog of IP and the fact that we will benefit from the kind of support that only they can provide… The harder question to answer would be “why not?

He left the studio 11 months after the buyout and now the studio is going away. What makes this harder on the folks who are now jobless, they never got a chance to reveal what game they were working on.

Game cancellations suck, but studio closures are even worse as it basically states that management no longer have confidence in the work they were doing, regardless of the reasons.

With luck all the staff at both studios will be able to find new jobs elsewhere in a hurry, or come back together to create a new studio and work on something new again.

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, 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.