Sony Interactive Entertainment announced on October 29, 2024, that it would permanently shut down Concord and close Firewalk Studios. That followed the game going offline on September 6, less than two weeks after its September 3 shutdown announcement. Sony said Concord had not attracted enough players and had missed its targets in the competitive PvP shooter genre.
What happened to Concord and Firewalk Studios?
The shutdown happened in two stages. On September 3, 2024, Firewalk game director Ryan Ellis announced that Concord would go offline beginning September 6 and that sales would stop immediately. At the time, the studio said it would explore options, including ways to better reach players. On October 29, Sony made the outcome permanent: it announced that Concord would be sunset and Firewalk Studios would close.
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Sony said it would seek positions for some affected Firewalk colleagues in its global studios where possible. Its announcement did not specify how many employees were affected or how many would be placed elsewhere.
Why did Sony close Firewalk and sunset Concord?
Sony’s stated explanation was that the game failed to reach enough players and did not meet the company’s targets in a highly competitive PvP first-person-shooter genre. Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group, wrote: “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.”
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- Concord is a new team-based shooter for PS5 and PC, in which you take control of the fate of your team.
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Hulst also said some aspects of the game were exceptional, while others did not land with enough players. He described the experience as a source of lessons for Sony’s ongoing live-service development. These are Sony’s stated reasons; its announcement does not provide a detailed independent accounting of everything that led to the game’s commercial outcome.
When did Concord go offline?
- September 3, 2024: Firewalk announced that sales would cease immediately and the game would go offline beginning September 6.
- September 6, 2024: The game was taken offline.
- October 29, 2024: Sony announced the permanent sunset of Concord and the closure of Firewalk Studios.
September’s announcement described taking the game offline while Sony considered options. October’s announcement ended that uncertainty: Sony said the game was being permanently sunset. Firewalk’s September 3 update and Hulst’s October 29 statement document the decisions.
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Could Concord buyers get a refund?
Firewalk’s September 3 notice said PS5 and PC purchasers would receive full refunds. The route depended on where the game was bought:
- PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct: Refunds were handled through PlayStation.
- Steam: Refunds were handled through Steam.
- Epic Games Store: Refunds were handled through Epic Games Store.
- Physical copies from other retailers: Buyers were directed to contact the retailer where they purchased the game and follow its refund process.
The notice said that players who received a refund would no longer have access to the game. It does not establish the current status of individual refund requests; buyers with unresolved cases should contact the relevant storefront or retailer. Read Firewalk’s refund and shutdown notice.
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What figures has Sony disclosed?
The cited Sony and Firewalk announcements do not give an exact sales total, player count, development budget, or workforce-impact figure. Sony’s explanation establishes that the game did not attract enough players for its targets, but it does not quantify that shortfall. Estimates or claims about those figures should not be presented as official Sony numbers.
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