In the end, it came down to money. Too much going out, not enough coming in.

Or, in corporate-speak, “growing through sustainable financials” was just not happening.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has announced the closure of two of its studios, Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios. 

Neon Koi closed.

In an email to staff, Hermen Hulst, CEO of SIE’s Studio Business Group, said “Neon Koi will close, and its mobile action game will not be moving forward … Regarding Firewalk … certain aspects of Concord [pictured at top] were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline”.

 

Happier days.

 

Hulst said the company “spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options” and concluded “the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio”.

“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.”  

The boss said Sony “consistently” evaluated its games portfolio and “status of our projects to ensure we are meeting near and long-term business priorities”.

“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 recognise when our games fall short of meeting player expectations.”

 

Concord.

He said mobile gaming “remains a priority growth area for the Studio Business”, but that the company is “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.”

Some of the affected studio staff will be redeployed “where possible”, however Bloomberg says more than 200 staff will be impacted.

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