It’s been two weeks since Sony announced its move Unprecedented Release Steps harmony Almost as long as the ill-fated sci-fi hero shooter officially dropped. Since then, my city Developers at Firewalk Studios are understood to be in the dark about their future as they await Sony’s decision on what’s next. harmony and team.
Whatever ends up happening, game director Ryan Ellis won’t be at the helm. Served as Creative Director at Bungie destiny 2, Ellis left in 2017 to lead development of what eventually became harmony. He told Firewalk employees last week that he would step down as game director and move into a support role, according to three sources familiar with the change.
Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ellis is the main conductor of this game harmonyAnalyst Simon Carless said the game failed to attract audiences despite being well received for its basic shooter gameplay estimated IGN The $40 PVP game has only sold around 25,000 copies, a very poor number considering not only its budget but also the PlayStation first-party brand it represents. Sony acquired Firewalk in 2023 for an undisclosed amount, after spending years making and promoting the game harmony at the PlayStation showcase in May of that year and at the 2024 showcase.
“Ryan believed deeply in this project and bringing players together through the fun of it,” said one former developer. He said he felt Ellis put so much effort into the game that it led to tremendous stress. “Regardless of the fact that there were things throughout the development process that could have been done differently … he was a good man and a caring person.”
sources revealed my city In an all-studio meeting following the game’s release, Ellis became emotional and was at times unable to speak after the game’s apparent failure. on september 3rd PlayStation Blog Post declare harmonyEllis wrote that after being pulled from store shelves, “aspects of the game and our initial launch did not go the way we expected.” He added that the team would “explore a variety of options, including those that would better influence the choices of our players” and work to “determine the best path forward”.
There is outside speculation harmony Possible relaunch at the end of this year Or as a PS Plus exclusive or free game in early 2025, so that more players can try it. The game’s existing content roadmap stretches over three seasons and promises expensive cutscenes to tell the story every week harmonyworld and characters.
But three sources told the studio that for many at the studio, it’s still unclear what happens next my city. they are pessimistic harmony Firewalk currently has about 150-170 employees, and some have been asked to explore completely different projects that may be their next steps. Speculation among some employees has also included whether the studio could be used for co-development on one of the myriad other first-party projects Sony is currently working on.
However, others believe mass layoffs will be the most likely outcome harmonySources say the failure includes the possible closure of the entire studio my city It is one of the higher cost-per-person studios in the PlayStation portfolio. Some developers are updating their resumes and portfolios, some have preemptively exited studios, and others are waiting to see what potential severance packages will look like before deciding what to do next.
Sony is established Sharp cuts earlier this yearwhich included the cancellation of multiple games and the closure of PlayStation London Studio. But with rival Microsoft recently laying off employees Another 650 employees in the Xbox gaming divisionWith another fiscal quarter coming to an end, more cuts are likely to come.