Following Sony’s shock decision to haul live service hero shooter Concord offline two weeks after launch, its game director has reportedly stepped down with some staff concerned about the future of the studio.
Kotaku reports that Ryan Ellis, who has served as Concord’s game director since January 2018, has told staff he has stepped down from the role and into a support function.
Ellis’ name was attached to the statement published on the PlayStation Blog that announced Concord would be taken offline. Ellis said that "while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended."
Concord is one of the biggest video game disasters in PlayStation history. After years of costly development, the PvP first-person shooter launched August 23 priced $40 on PC and PlayStation 5, but its sales were estimated to be around only 25,000 and its peak Steam concurrent player count was shockingly low (Sony does not make PlayStation player numbers public). Sony then removed Concord from sale just 11 days after launch, issuing refunds in the process.
According to Kotaku, staff at the 150-person Firewalk, which Sony acquired in 2023 for an undisclosed fee, are anxiously awaiting their fate. While Ellis has indicated that Firewalk would “explore options” that suggest Concord may return in some form, some staff are said to be skeptical. Kotaku reports that some have been asked to pitch ideas for new games, some are speculating they may be drafted in to help develop another Sony game, while others fear mass layoffs or even a studio shutdown.
Sony’s gaming business has already suffered significant cuts in 2024. In February, it announced a round of layoffs affecting 900 staff, or about 8% of its global PlayStation workforce. The layoffs impacted a number of PlayStation studios, including Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and Firesprite, but PlayStation's London studio was hit hardest with a notice of closure. Since then, Sony-owned Bungie has also suffered devastating cuts as Destiny 2 struggles to find commercial success.
While Concord the video game is no more, it will live on later this year as part of Amazon’s Secret Level adult animation anthology series. But Sony faces tough questions about its live service plans, which include Bungie’s Marathon and Haven’s Fairgame$.
Last year, Sony president Hiroki Totoki committed to launching just six of 12 live service games in development, and one based on The Last of Us has already been canceled.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
