Staff refreshing resumes as they anticipate job cuts
- by Khayl Adam
The silence following Sony’s removal of Concord from sale could never last, and it appears there has been some movement at the embattled Firewalk Studios. According to multiple Kotaku sources, the developers feel like they are stuck in limbo, and last week, director Ryan Ellis told staff he would be stepping down as director and moving into a support role.
Formerly creative director on Destiny 2, Ellis left Bungie in 2017 to work on what would ultimately become Concord. Firewalk would be acquired by Sony in 2023 for an undisclosed sum. During the days following Concord’s muted launch, sources say Ellis became too emotional to speak during studio-wide meetings. The first-party developer currently employs an estimated 150-170 staff. There is a growing sentiment among them that mass layoffs are coming, and Kotaku was told that Firewalk is one of Sony’s most expensive studios on a per-head basis.
Unfortunately, this is not exactly surprising, but it’s not very inspiring, either. We can’t imagine Concord coming back in a meaningful way, nor that anyone would be bold enough to try at this point. Sony has been asked for comment, and we’ll update this story if and when it responds.
[source kotaku.com]
Khayl Adam is Push Square’s roving Australian correspondent, a reporter tasked with scouring the internet for the richest, most succulent PlayStation stories. With five years of experience as a freelance journalist and mercenary wordsmith, RPGs are his first great love, but strategy and tactics games are a close second, genres in which he is only too happy to specialize.
