Concord Director Reportedly Steps Down After Game Shutdown

Sony's first-person shooter Concord was shut down two weeks ago, after what is widely regarded as the gaming industry's biggest flop this year. Naturally, the uncertain future of the game and the studio, which Sony acquired in 2023, has become a major concern for the employees involved. 

The game's shutdown doesn't mean it's completely abandoned at this moment — at least according to the game director, Ryan Ellis, who wrote in the shutdown announcement that the team will "explore options, including those that will better reach our players." However, Kotaku's sources said that last week, the director told colleagues at Firewalk that "he would be stepping down from his game director role and move into a support role instead."

Ellis joined the studio in 2017 after leaving Bungie, where he worked as creative director on Destiny 2. A former developer told Kotaku, "Ryan deeply believed in that project and bringing players together through the joy in it.” As the leading role of the project, he also poured a lot of effort and emotion during years of development and "was too emotional to speak at points during a post-launch studio-wide meeting."

Sony hasn't commented on this change in the leadership yet, nor has it decided what to do next with the game or the studio. It could make the game free to play, as some assumed, assigning a new director to lead the team's work on the three-season road map. However, many in the studio are not optimistic at all that the game would return, and they mention that "some have been asked to explore pitches for something completely different that Firewalk, which is currently around 150-170 employees, might work on next."

Meanwhile, a few employees are already updating their resumes and considering looking for new opportunities, while others are waiting for further notice regarding Sony's decision before taking any action.

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