With Concord's devs "in limbo" following its shutdown, the game's director is reportedly stepping down to a "support role"
Ryan Ellis' role change has come as Firewalk awaits the decision as to what comes next for the hero shooter, according to a new report.
Following the shutdown of Firewalk Studios' Concord, the game's developers are reportedly "in limbo", with game director Ryan Ellis having stepped down into a "support role", according to a new report.
Since PlayStation made the decision to take the game offline on September 6 following a launch which saw low player counts and sales estimates, there's been a lot of speculation as to whether it might end up being brought back in a different state further down the line, possibly as a free-to-play title. Well, it would seem Sony itself is still weighing up its options.
According to a report from Kotaku, Ellis, the former Destiny 2 creative director who signed on to lead the priject in 2017, told staff last week he'd be moving from his former post into "a support role".
"Ryan deeply believed in that project and bringing players together through the joy in it,” one former developer said of Ellis,"Regardless of there being things that could have been done differently throughout development...he’s a good human, and full of heart."
As this has happened, Kotaku reports that staff at Firewalk are currently unsure of what the future holds for them and the studio, as Sony seemingly decides how or whether it wants to move forward with Concord, or re-direct efforts elsewhere.
In addition to some reportedly having been asked to "explore pitches" for a different project that the studio could work on next, others at the studio speculate that they could end up co-developing another Sony first-party title, and some "feel like mass layoffs will be the most likely result of Concord’s failure, including the possible shutdown of the entire studio".
"Concord fans — we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC and want to thank everyone who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar," Ryan Ellis wrote in the PlayStation blog post announcing Concord's shutdown, "Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game has meant the world to us.
"However, while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players."