Summary
Former Rockstar Games dev Obbe Vermeij has shared why they think the recent shuttering of Firewalk Studios, the developer behindConcord, may have been a missed opportunity. The Sony-owned studio was closed down just around two months after its poorly rated live-service game,Concord, rolled out on PS5 and PC.
Firewalk Studios builtConcord, a gameenvisioned to become one of the top PlayStation IPsin the coming years, over a span of eight years and on a reported budget of USD 400 million. However, despite the long development time and generous funding, the hero shooter game became a remarkable flop quickly after it came out on July 08, 2025. To publisher Sony’s dismay, it sold a disappointing 15,000 units across PS5 and PC in the first five days after launch. Not long after, Sony pulled the plug onConcordand ended server support on September 6—just a couple of weeks after its release—and issued refunds for those who bought the game. This ultimately led to the console giant permanently closing the doors of Firewalk Studios’s office on October 29.
Similar to some of their peers in the industry, ex-Rockstar Games dev Obbe Vermeij, who worked on hit games includingGTA San Andreas, expressed their opinion onFirewalk Studios being shuttered. While they acknowledgedConcord’s atrocious sales mean “there’s no saving” Sony’s game, they stated that it was still “clearly competently made [sic].” The formerGTAdev argued that giving the studio a second chance and letting it work on an existing IP or a unique PvP game may have been more sensible.
Ex-GTA Dev Questions Concord Studio’s Shutdown by Sony
Vermeij drew attention to an emerging trend in the industry and said that publishers are “spending billions” to acquire studios, only to shut them down following “one failed game,” even if it was “well crafted [sic].” Additionally, they called this strategy to be “wasteful.” In the context of the Firewalk Studios incident, Sony bought the American developer in April 2023 and dissolved it one-and-a-half years after that. Another similar case involves rival Xbox, in which it infamously shuttered Bethesda studios, such as Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, in May 2024—about three years after taking over Bethesda parent ZeniMax Media. However, in that story, there’s still a silver lining becauseTango Gameworks was later bought out and resurrectedby Krafton, making the Japanese studio’s case an exception.
What the veteran developer underlined is arguably a grave issue in the game industry today, where layoffs have been rampant for quite a while. Even though there are now virtually zero chances forConcord’s rumored comebackto happen, players can hope that the devs who worked on it get another opportunity to shine sooner rather than later.
Concord
WHERE TO PLAY
Assemble your crew of Freegunner space outlaws and team up online with friends for thrilling 5v5 PVP modes across the galaxy in Concord.Concord is a new team-based first-person shooter for PS5® and PC*. Handpick your personal roster of Freegunners from the crew of the Northstar – a group of outlaws and adventurers working as guns-for-hire.ASSEMBLE YOUR CREWFrom powerful mystics to skilled gunslingers and helpful healers, each Freegunner brings their own unique skills, personality, and abilities that cater to a wide-range of playstyles.Create your own custom squads of Freegunners with Crew Builder to bring an arsenal of different role types to the match or focus on your favourite characters to master their gameplay and unlock unique modifiers, cosmetics, background lore, and more – you decide when to play your characters and how you impact the match.PLAY. PROGRESS. PERSONALIZE.Earn and unlock a wide range of character customization items and learn more about the characters, worlds, and factions in the Concord Galaxy with the Galactic Guide.You’ll also be able to progress toward and unlock Freegunner Variants—versions of each of the 16 Freegunners with added Combat Trait modifiers to their base abilities. As you learn and master the characters, Combat Traits empower you to tailor each character to your playstyle.
