Kotaku reports these hours that Ryan Ellisthe director responsible for Concordyes it is resigned these days, while the entire team at Firewalk Studios is currently in limbo, with its fate hanging on Sony’s next decisions regarding the matter.
It’s been two weeks since Sony’s sensational decision to remove Concord from the market just over ten days after its launch, which has placed it in the delicate role of historic flop for the company, perhaps the worst in its recent history.
There is no public statement yet, but according to Kotaku, Ellis has communicated to the staff his decision to step down from his leadership role at the team, taking on a support role, pending any developments on the situation at the studio.
Pessimism reigns in Firewalk Studios
Ellis is a Bungie veteran, where he served as creative director on Destiny 2. He left the team in 2017 to lead development on Concord.
Sony has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter, so for now we await any official communications on the situation of Firewalk, which is an integral part of the PlayStation Studios since it was acquired by Sony in 2023, for an undisclosed sum.
“Ryan believed deeply in that project and in bringing players together through fun,” said one former developer, who said he felt Ellis had poured a lot of himself into the game, causing him a lot of stress.
“Regardless of the things that could have been done differently during development… he’s a good, kind-hearted man.” The director apparently became very disheartened after the release of Concord, when it became clear that the game would be a colossal flop.
Despite an expense that is not clearly quantified, but which many estimate to be above 100 million dollars, Concord may have sold only 25,000 copies at launch, according to some estimates by analysts, certifying it as a notable failure for Sony.
It is not yet clear what the fate of Concord will be and perhaps that of the Firewalk Studios team is also linked to this: it is possible that the game will be recovered and relaunched in the near future, perhaps as free-to-play, but at the moment the team seems to be dominated by pessimismaccording to the source.
According to some, it seems that the team has been encouraged to present new projects to pursue, considering that it is a studio made up of 150-170 employees and therefore represents a significant workforce within PlayStation Studios. As well as one of the higher cost teamsaccording to the Kotaku report, which could put it at risk of possible staff cuts.