Within two weeks after its release, amidst lukewarm critical reception, abysmal player numbers, and shockingly low (alleged) sales, Sony announced that Concord would be going offline, and that everyone who had purchased the hero shooter would be receiving a refund.
Now, a Kotaku report has claimed that Concord’s game director Ryan Ellis – who was previously creative director on Destiny 2 at Bungie before leaving in 2017 – has stepped down from his role. Though he remains at developer Firewalk Studios, he has now moved into a support role.
The report also claims, however, that the future of the game and the studio itself remains in limbo. When Concord was shut down, it was confirmed that Firewalk and Sony would be internally discussing options for the game’s future, though Kotaku’s report cites three anonymous sources who say Sony hasn’t yet said anything, and that Firewalk’s employees remain in the dark.
As per the report, some employees have left the studio, while others are expecting mass layoffs, or even a full studio closure- though it’s important to note that these are internal speculations, with nothing yet confirmed. Either way, some staff remain pessimistic that Concord will return, with speculation rife over whether the studio might develop something entirely new next, or perhaps be used as a co-development team on one of Sony’s many ongoing first-party projects.
PlayStation announced in April last year that it had acquired Firewalk Studios, adding it to its portfolio of first-party studios.