Sony Shuts Down Two Studios Together with Harmony Creator

Right this moment, Sony introduced they’re shutting down two of the studios that they’ve acquired over the previous couple of years.

In an electronic mail that was initially distributed internally to Sony owned firms, Hermen Hulst (the CEO of the Sony Studio enterprise group) shared that they’d determined to close down Neon Koi, and Firewalk Studios. Each of those studios had been acquired by Sony over the previous couple of years, with Neon Koi (then going by Savage Video games) acquired in 2022, and Firewalk Studios being acquired in 2023.

Firewalk Studios acquisition was a part of a push in direction of reside service video games, with the corporate working to create Harmony, which launched this yr to dismal reception. Infamously, Harmony’s reception was so unhealthy that inside weeks Sony was providing refunds to everybody for the sport, and taking it off cabinets whereas they contemplated what to do. The choice appears to be to shutter the doorways on Harmony, and the individuals who made it utterly.

The PvP first individual shooter style is a aggressive house that’s repeatedly evolving, and sadly, we didn’t hit our targets with this title. We are going to take the teachings discovered from Harmony and proceed to advance our reside service capabilities to ship future progress on this space. – Herman Hulst

Whereas Hulst’s letter mentions taking classes from Harmony, it’s notably removed from PlayStation’s first subject with the tried push in direction of reside service. There’s been a wide range of points with Bungie resulting in repeated layoffs together with only some months in the past, and them decreasing the variety of reside service video games that they goal to launch within the subsequent whereas.

Firewalk Studios launched an announcement on the social media outlet previously generally known as Twitter in regards to the closure, saying partly,

We took some dangers alongside the way in which – marrying facets of card battlers and combating video games with first-person-shooters – and though a few of these and different facets of the IP didn’t land as we hoped, the thought of placing new issues into the world is crucial to pushing the medium ahead.

The expertise at Firewalk and the extent of particular person craft is really world-class, and groups inside Sony Interactive Leisure and throughout the trade might be lucky to work with them.  Please attain out to Recruiting at PlayStation for inquiries, and thanks to all of the very many groups, companions and followers who supported us alongside the way in which.

Neon Koi’s acquisition was geared toward serving to develop their cellular video games enterprise, an space that the corporate has been struggling to interrupt into for a very long time now. Persistently outshined by the Sony Music division in cellular video games, which famously publishes Destiny/Grand Order and arrange it is personal publishing label referred to as Unties. In the meantime, Sony Interactive Leisure had points with Forwardworks, and with the shutting down of Neon Koi, it appears that evidently the PlayStation Studios Cell effort is off to related points. Sadly, Neon Koi by no means acquired to ship a sport both underneath it is unique title or rebranding.

Whereas cellular stays a precedence progress space for the Studio Enterprise, we’re within the very early stage of our cellular efforts.  To attain success on this space we have to focus on titles which might be in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to succeed in extra gamers globally.  – Herman Hulst

Even whereas Sony has bought report numbers of video games, we’re seeing them proceed a disturbing pattern of online game layoffs. By Might we had been already over 10k layoffs, and the hits have solely saved coming. Following the sooner shutdowns by Microsoft of Arkane Austin, and Tango Gameworks (amongst others), it serves as a reminder that an acquisition doesn’t suggest the staff is secure.