It’s been two weeks since Sony introduced it was taking the unprecedented step of unreleasing Concord and nearly as lengthy for the reason that ill-fated, sci-fi hero shooter was formally taken offline. Within the time since, Kotaku understands that builders at Firewalk Studios have been in limbo about their future as they await Sony’s determination about what comes subsequent for Harmony and the workforce.
No matter finally ends up taking place, sport director Ryan Ellis is not going to be on the helm. Previously at Bungie the place he served as inventive director on Future 2, Ellis left in 2017 to steer improvement on what would ultimately develop into Harmony. He instructed workers at Firewalk final week that he can be stepping down from his sport director function and transfer right into a help function as an alternative, in keeping with three sources conversant in the change.
Sony didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Ellis was the primary shot caller on Harmony, which regardless of reward for its underlying shooter gameplay really feel, failed to draw an viewers, with analyst Simon Carless estimating to IGN that the $40 PVP-only sport had bought solely round 25,000 copies, abysmal numbers given not simply its price range however the PlayStation first-party model it represented. Sony acquired Firewalk in 2023 for an undisclosed sum after the sport had spent years in manufacturing and promoted Harmony at each that 12 months’s Might PlayStation showcase and its 2024 one.
“Ryan deeply believed in that challenge and bringing gamers collectively by way of the enjoyment in it,” mentioned one former developer, who mentioned he felt Ellis had poured quite a lot of himself into the sport, resulting in a ton of stress. “No matter there being issues that might have been executed in a different way all through improvement…he’s a very good human, and filled with coronary heart.”
Sources instructed Kotaku that Ellis was too emotional to communicate at factors throughout a post-launch studio-wide assembly after it had develop into clear that the sport was bombing. In a September 3 PlayStation Blog post saying Harmony’s elimination from retailer cabinets, Ellis wrote, “features of the sport and our preliminary launch didn’t land the best way we’d meant.” He added that the workforce would “discover choices, together with these that can higher attain our gamers” and work to “decide the most effective path forward.”
Some outsiders speculated that Concord might relaunch near the end of this year or early in 2025 as a PS Plus unique or free-to-play sport as a way to get extra gamers to strive it. The sport’s current content material roadmap prolonged by way of three seasons, full with the promise of costly weekly cutscenes telling the story of Harmony’s world and characters.
However for a lot of inside the studio, it’s nonetheless not clear what’s going to come subsequent, three sources instructed Kotaku. They’re pessimistic Harmony will return, and a few have been requested to discover pitches for one thing fully totally different that Firewalk, which is presently round 150-170 staff, would possibly work on subsequent. Hypothesis amongst some workers has additionally included whether or not the studio could possibly be used as co-development on certainly one of Sony’s myriad different first-party tasks presently in manufacturing.
Others, nonetheless, really feel like mass layoffs would be the more than likely results of Harmony’s failure, together with the doable shutdown of your entire studio, which sources inform Kotaku is likely one of the costlier studios within the PlayStation portfolio on a per-head foundation. Some builders are updating their resumes and portfolios, a couple of have already preemptively exited the studio, and others are ready to see what a possible severance bundle will appear like earlier than deciding what to do subsequent.
Sony instituted deep cuts earlier this year, which included the cancellation of a number of video games and the closure of its PlayStation London Studio. However with its competitor Microsoft just lately shedding another 650 people from its Xbox gaming division, and the top of one other fiscal quarter looming, extra cuts may nonetheless be coming.