Firewalk Studios’ Concord is one of Sony’s biggest failures of all time, estimated to have only sold 25,000 units after launch. It was pulled from sale after roughly two weeks before servers eventually shut down and the developer shuttered. Beyond the rumored budget and sunk costs, its impact is allegedly still felt, especially with Sony’s other projects.
In the latest Game Mess podcast, GiantBomb’s Jeff Grubb revealed that the cancelled live-service titles from Bluepoint Games and Bend Studio were reportedly due to Concord. “This happened because of Concord. Like, this should be clear. That’s what I’ve been told.
“Sony has been shell-shocked from Concord, and now they’re going around to every studio and reassessing every project. If it’s a live-service project, there’s a lot of friction against it, preventing it from getting a chance to come out.”
He also reports that these were the main projects from both studios. Alongside Concord, they join the likes of cancelled multiplayer titles for The Last of Us and Marvel’s Spider-Man, the rumored Twisted Metal reboot and Sony London’s fantasy RPG.
Sony noted that the cancellations won’t result in studio closures, but it’s unknown if there will be layoffs. Plans are underway to discuss the future, so stay tuned for further updates.
