Firewalk Studios Waiting In Layoff Limbo After Concord Flop

Concord is undoubtedly one of the biggest unmitigated disasters in recent gaming history. Not only did the title flop in international markets, but Sony also decided to pull the plug on the project just days after its initial launch.

Two weeks later, many staffers have an uncertain future with the company. But one thing’s certain: Firewalk Studio will have to go forward without Concord’s game director, Ryan Ellis.

A former Bungie creative director, Ellis was the big shot behind Destiny 2. Despite his position as creative director at the company, he wanted to try something bigger and better with Concord.

Unfortunately, this brief episode ended last week when he announced to the Firewalk Studio staff that he’d resign as game director and assume a support role.

Ellis’ Departure Points To Bleak Future

According to estimates from earlier this month, Concord has sold a measly 25,000 copies of the game. While many would praise the game’s mechanics and feel, the financial figures weren’t enough to keep Ellis at the helm.

This is sad news, as all his colleagues indicate that Ellis was deeply invested in the project. Here’s what one of the Firewalk Studio employees had to say about the matter:

Internal sources also indicate that the game director was reluctant to speak during the company’s meetings following Concord’s launch.

Although he was already making plans to attract more users, it was simply never meant to be.

Unfortunately, the news of Ellis’ departure is probably the first in a series of disasters to strike the studio. The company’s 150 to 175 employees fear their future and how they’ll be utilized going forward.

There are rumors that the team at Firewalks Studios will be used for co-development in the future without having a full influence on Sony’s projects.

The most likely scenario is that Sony will gut the team with numerous layoffs. Some employees have even preemptively left the company, while others are staying put to see what kind of severance package they’ll receive.