Category: Video Games

Concord’s initial development deal was around $200 million according to a report by Kotaku, offering a glimpse of how much it cost Sony to develop its disastrous live service game, which lasted just two weeks before being unceremoniously shuttered.

Kotaku’s report, which cites two sources familiar with the agreement, says that the $200 million was not enough to fund Concord’s entire development, nor did it include the purchase of the Concord IP rights or Firewalk Studios itself. Kotaku’s number aligns with an earlier report saying that ProbablyMonsters — Firewalk’s original parent company — raised $200 million in 2021.

Firewalk is signing off one last time.

Firewalk began with the idea of bringing the joy of multiplayer to a larger audience. Along the way we assembled an incredible team who were able to:
– Navigate growing a new startup into a team during a global pandemic: Firewalk was…

— Firewalk (@FirewalkStudios) October 29, 2024

Firewalk’s goodbye post sheds additional light on its development costs. Looking back on the studio’s history, the note reflects on being a new startup during the global pandemic, and how Concord only entered full production in 2022. It also talks about building a “new, customized next-generation FPS engine in Unreal 4 -> 5, delivering top-tier gameplay feel, beautiful worlds, and a performant 60fps technical experience on a stable and scalable backend on PS5 and PC to hundreds of thousands of players in our beta.”

It all points to Concord being seen as an ambitious project that was expected to attract a large audience. Instead it launched to tepid reviews and low interest, prompting PlayStation to pull the plug within days of release. One estimate suggested it only sold around 25,000 copies.

Midia Research Analyst Rhys Elliott told IGN shortly before Concord was shut down, “Pivoting to live services is high-risk, high-reward venture, and the risk is heightening to levels that might not be worth it for many AAA console/PC publishers that aren’t already active in the space.”

Concord is hardly the only expensive live service game to fail to meet expectations, with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League facing similar struggles. Live service games are increasingly facing a calcified market dominated by the likes of Fortnite and Call of Duty while costing hundreds of millions dollars to make. Despite that, PlayStation continues to bet big on service games, with Fairgame$ and Marathon among the projects next on the docket.

PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst says Sony will learn from its experience with Firewalk Studios. “The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s continuously evolving, and unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area.”

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson says BioWare has returned to its strengths with the impending release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, praising its reviews while predicting that it has “breakout potential” thanks to what he characterizes as limited competition.

Speaking with investors in EA’s quarterly earnings call, Wilson reflected on some of BioWare’s troubled recent history, which has been defined in part by the failure of Anthem — a multiplayer game Wilson described as “very, very different than something that would be known as a BioWare game.” In the wake of Anthem, Wilson said a “big shift happened” that saw “BioWare really returning to BioWare-type games; really returning to BioWare’s strengths.”

“BioWare has rallied around what made BioWare a fan-favorite studio and a fan-favorite brand and the types of games they make – incredibly rich worlds, incredibly nuanced characters, really powerful and compelling stories with comaraderie and friendships and relationships, and decisions that matter in the context of gameplay,” Wilson said. “And I think it’s been that return to what made BioWare great and giving the studio time to deliver against what makes BioWare great in the context of the Dragon Age world is what amounts to Dragon Age: The Veilguard.”

Wilson’s comments come in the context of what has been reported to be a sometimes fraught relationship with EA. Rumors over the years have suggested that BioWare has been pressured to match the success of highly profitable modes like Ultimate Team, though the studio is adamant in saying that EA has been supportive of the studio. Our report on how BioWare managed to get Dragon Age: The Veilguard to the finish line after a tumultuous decade details some of the challenges that the studio has faced over the years.

Looking ahead to The Veilguard’s release, Wilson praised its solid reviews and suggested that it has “breakout potential” thanks to BioWare’s existing fanbase and the relatively clear release calendar. “We’re going into a market with limited competition for this category of game given some of the moves that has happened across the broader industry,” Wilson said, likely referring to Ubisoft’s decision to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows into 2025.

Elsewhere, EA reported record earnings for its second quarter while adding around 15 million new players to The Sims 4 in 2024, and suggested that it isn’t interested in making Apex Legends 2. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, for its part, releases October 31.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

PS5 gamers rejoice, because a popular exclusive game is on sale ahead of Black Friday. Amazon Best Buy is currently offering Stellar Blade for only $49.99 shipped after a 30% price drop. This is the first time we’ve seen this game discounted at all (it was full price during Amazon Prime Day), and I doubt this price will drop any further on Black Friday.

Update: This deal is already sold out on Amazon, but it’s still available at Best Buy.

30% Off Stellar Blade

The Disney Dreamlight Valley showcase has revealed details on the incoming Storybook Vale expansion pass, Sew Delightful update, new editions, and more.

The showcase revealed The Storybook Vale arrives November 20 with several new editions of Disney Dreamlight Valley coming alongside. The Gold Edition of the game will be phased out and replaced by the Storybook Vale Bundle at $59.99 and Enhanced Edition at $79.99.

The base game will remain at $39.99, with expansions like A Rift In Time and The Storybook Vale costing $29.99. Fans can also pick up the Magical Edition of The Storybook Vale for $49.99, which comes with 10,000 instead of 5,000 Moonstones, the Autumn Manor House Style, Storybook Vale Dress & Ensemble, and Baby Pegasus Companion & House.

The Storybook Vale includes two main content drops, with the November 20 date adding Welcome to the Vale content. This introduces Flynn Rider from Tangled, Merida from Brave, Hades from Hercules, and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The second content drop arrives in summer 2025 and is called The Unwritten Realms.

Sony is shuttering Firewalk Studios in the wake of its disastrous release of Concord, the PS5 shooter that lasted less than two weeks before being shuttered. The news was first reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.

Firewalk Studios’ closure follows the reported departure of director Ryan Ellis, who stepped down after Concord was taken offline. Sony Interactive Entertainment publicly posted the internal email from Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst with a statement on the closure, which you can read below. Hulst wrote that SIE had “spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options,” but ultimately decided to sunset the studio, which it had acquired in April 2023. The email also announces SIE’s decision to close Neon Koi, a German studio working on a mobile action game.

Dear Team,

Today, I want to share some important updates from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group.

We consistently evaluate our games portfolio and status of our projects to ensure we are meeting near and long-term business priorities. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen SIE’s Studio Business, we have had to make a difficult decision relating to two of our studios – Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.

Expanding beyond PlayStation devices and crafting engaging online experiences alongside our single-player games are key focal areas for us as we evolve our revenue streams. We need to be strategic, though, in bringing our games to new platforms and recognize when our games fall short of meeting player expectations.

While mobile remains a priority growth area for the Studio Business, we are in the very early stage of our mobile efforts. To achieve success in this area we need to concentrate on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally.

With this re-focused approach, Neon Koi will close, and its mobile action game will not be moving forward. I want to express my gratitude to everyone at Neon Koi for their hard work and endless passion to innovate.

Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (An Important Update on Concord), certain aspects of Concord were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline. We have spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options.

After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio.   I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.

The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s continuously evolving, and unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area.

I know none of this is easy news to hear, particularly with colleagues and friends departing SIE. Both decisions were given serious thought, and ultimately, we feel they are the right ones to strengthen the organization. Neon Koi and Firewalk were home to many talented individuals, and we will work to find placement for some of those impacted within our global community of studios where possible.

I am a big believer in the benefits of embracing creative experimentation and developing new IP. However, growing through sustainable financials, especially in a challenged economic environment is critical.

While today is a difficult day, there is much to look forward to in the months ahead from the Studio Business Group and our teams. I remain confident that we are building a resilient and capable organization driven by creating unforgettable entertainment experiences for our players.  

Thank you for your continued support.

Developing…

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.