Concord Director Steps Down From Firewalk, Employees Fear For Studio's Future

Summary

WheneverSony’stroubled live-service hero shooter,Concord, does return, if it returns, it’ll do so without its director. That’s because,according to a report from Kotaku, which cited multiple sources, Firewalk Studios' Ryan Ellis, who served as the Game Director, has stepped down.

The move comes a little over two weeks since Sony and Firewalk announced that it would be pulling the plug on its latest live-service endeavor. At the time,in a blog posted to PlayStation’s official site, Ellis noted that the team would “explore options, including those that will better reach our players.”

If that remains the case, then Ellis will do so in a support role,according to the report. Through Concord’s development, launch and subsequent removal, Ellis served as the “main shot caller” on the project, having “deeply believed” in its potential.

The reported move has left a high level of uncertainty among developers at Firewalk.

What Comes Next Is Unclear

As part of the report, Kotaku goes on to note that for those involved with the game studio, there is a level of uncertainty about what will happen next. Some are pessimistic that Concord will ever return, despite its options being explored. Previously,The Gamer reported how Concord was seemingly receiving updates on the back-end via Sony QA engineers.

Elsewhere, some hands have been asked to begin exploring pitches for a new game entirely. There is also reported speculation that Firewalk could become a support studio for Sony and its other first-party projects.

That said, other individuals,who spoke with Kotaku, believe that mass layoffs will be the result of Concord’s failure. A possible shutdown was also mentioned. In advance of that, Kotaku noted that developers have begun updating their resumes and portfolios.

Some have reportedly already left, though, while others are waiting to see what type of severance would be offered in the event of a total shutdown. Only time will tell what does indeed happen, not only with Concord, but with Firewalk as a whole. To this point,refunds have been issued for Concord, with the game being removed from accounts altogether. Meanwhile,the planned Concord-themed episode of Secret Level will still reportedly be made available.