Sony͏͏ Interactive͏͏ Entertainment͏͏ (SIE)͏͏ has͏͏ announced͏͏ the͏͏ closure͏͏ of͏͏ two͏͏ of͏͏ its͏͏ game͏͏ studios,͏͏ Neon͏͏ Koi͏͏ and͏͏ Firewalk.͏͏ This͏͏ move͏͏ has͏͏ left͏͏ many͏͏ gamers͏͏ and͏͏ industry͏͏ insiders͏͏ wondering͏͏ what͏͏ it͏͏ means͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ future͏͏ of͏͏ Sony’s͏͏ gaming͏͏ lineup.
Hermen͏͏ Hulst,͏͏ CEO͏͏ of͏͏ Sony’s͏͏ Studio͏͏ Business͏͏ Group,͏͏ explained͏͏ the͏͏ decision͏͏ in͏͏ a͏͏ recent͏͏ update͏͏ to͏͏ employees.͏͏ “After͏͏ evaluating͏͏ our͏͏ games͏͏ portfolio͏͏ and͏͏ the͏͏ status͏͏ of͏͏ our͏͏ projects͏͏ to͏͏ ensure͏͏ we͏͏ are͏͏ meeting͏͏ near͏͏ and͏͏ long-term͏͏ business͏͏ priorities,͏͏ it͏͏ was͏͏ making͏͏ the͏͏ difficult͏͏ decision͏͏ to͏͏ close͏͏ Neon͏͏ Koi͏͏ and͏͏ Firewalk͏͏ Studios,”͏͏ Hulst͏͏ said.
Impact͏͏ on͏͏ Employees
The͏͏ closures͏͏ will͏͏ affect͏͏ a͏͏ number͏͏ of͏͏ employees.͏͏ Firewalk͏͏ Studios͏͏ employs͏͏ between͏͏ 51-200͏͏ people,͏͏ while͏͏ Neon͏͏ Koi͏͏ has͏͏ around͏͏ 11-50͏͏ staff͏͏ members.͏͏ Hulst͏͏ added,͏͏ “Neon͏͏ Koi͏͏ and͏͏ Firewalk͏͏ were͏͏ home͏͏ to͏͏ many͏͏ talented͏͏ individuals,͏͏ and͏͏ we͏͏ will͏͏ work͏͏ to͏͏ find͏͏ placement͏͏ for͏͏ some͏͏ of͏͏ those͏͏ impacted͏͏ within͏͏ our͏͏ global͏͏ community͏͏ of͏͏ studios͏͏ where͏͏ possible.”
Reasons͏͏ Behind͏͏ the͏͏ Closures
For͏͏ Neon͏͏ Koi,͏͏ the͏͏ focus͏͏ on͏͏ mobile͏͏ gaming͏͏ didn’t͏͏ align͏͏ with͏͏ Sony’s͏͏ new͏͏ direction.͏͏ “While͏͏ mobile͏͏ remains͏͏ a͏͏ priority͏͏ growth͏͏ area͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ studio͏͏ business,͏͏ we͏͏ need͏͏ to͏͏ concentrate͏͏ on͏͏ titles͏͏ that͏͏ are͏͏ in͏͏ line͏͏ with͏͏ PlayStation͏͏ Studios’͏͏ pedigree͏͏ and͏͏ have͏͏ the͏͏ potential͏͏ to͏͏ reach͏͏ more͏͏ players͏͏ globally,”͏͏ Hulst͏͏ explained.͏͏ As͏͏ a͏͏ result,͏͏ Neon͏͏ Koi’s͏͏ mobile͏͏ action͏͏ game͏͏ will͏͏ not͏͏ be͏͏ moving͏͏ forward.
Firewalk͏͏ Studios͏͏ faced͏͏ challenges͏͏ with͏͏ their͏͏ game͏͏ Concord.͏͏ “Certain͏͏ aspects͏͏ of͏͏ Concord͏͏ were͏͏ exceptional,͏͏ but͏͏ others͏͏ did͏͏ not͏͏ land͏͏ with͏͏ enough͏͏ players,”͏͏ Hulst͏͏ stated.͏͏ Despite͏͏ exploring͏͏ all͏͏ options,͏͏ Sony͏͏ decided͏͏ to͏͏ permanently͏͏ sunset͏͏ the͏͏ game͏͏ and͏͏ close͏͏ the͏͏ studio.͏͏ This͏͏ highlights͏͏ the͏͏ tough͏͏ competition͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ PvP͏͏ first-person͏͏ shooter͏͏ genre.
Hermen͏͏ Hulst͏͏ acknowledged͏͏ the͏͏ difficulty͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ decision.͏͏ “I͏͏ know͏͏ none͏͏ of͏͏ this͏͏ is͏͏ easy͏͏ news͏͏ to͏͏ hear,͏͏ particularly͏͏ with͏͏ colleagues͏͏ and͏͏ friends͏͏ departing͏͏ SIE,”͏͏ he͏͏ said.͏͏ “Both͏͏ decisions͏͏ were͏͏ given͏͏ serious͏͏ thought,͏͏ and͏͏ ultimately,͏͏ we͏͏ feel͏͏ they͏͏ are͏͏ the͏͏ right͏͏ ones͏͏ to͏͏ strengthen͏͏ the͏͏ organization.”
Future͏͏ Plans͏͏ for͏͏ Sony
Despite͏͏ the͏͏ closures,͏͏ Hulst͏͏ remains͏͏ optimistic͏͏ about͏͏ Sony’s͏͏ future.͏͏ “While͏͏ today͏͏ is͏͏ a͏͏ difficult͏͏ day,͏͏ there͏͏ is͏͏ much͏͏ to͏͏ look͏͏ forward͏͏ to͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ months͏͏ ahead͏͏ from͏͏ the͏͏ Studio͏͏ Business͏͏ Group͏͏ and͏͏ our͏͏ teams,”͏͏ he͏͏ concluded.͏͏ Sony͏͏ aims͏͏ to͏͏ build͏͏ a͏͏ resilient͏͏ and͏͏ capable͏͏ organization͏͏ focused͏͏ on͏͏ creating͏͏ unforgettable͏͏ entertainment͏͏ experiences͏͏ for͏͏ players.
What’s͏͏ Next͏͏ for͏͏ Gamers?
For͏͏ gamers,͏͏ the͏͏ closure͏͏ of͏͏ Neon͏͏ Koi͏͏ and͏͏ Firewalk͏͏ might͏͏ mean͏͏ fewer͏͏ new͏͏ titles͏͏ in͏͏ certain͏͏ genres.͏͏ However,͏͏ Sony’s͏͏ commitment͏͏ to͏͏ focusing͏͏ on͏͏ high-quality,͏͏ globally͏͏ appealing͏͏ games͏͏ suggests͏͏ that͏͏ upcoming͏͏ releases͏͏ will͏͏ continue͏͏ to͏͏ meet͏͏ player͏͏ expectations.͏͏ Fans͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ closed͏͏ studios͏͏ will͏͏ have͏͏ to͏͏ wait͏͏ and͏͏ see͏͏ if͏͏ their͏͏ favorite͏͏ developers͏͏ find͏͏ new͏͏ homes͏͏ within͏͏ Sony͏͏ or͏͏ elsewhere͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ industry.
