After the shutdown of Firewalk Studios’ Harmony, the game’s developers find themselves in a state of uncertainty, as reported. Following this development, game director Ryan Ellis has transitioned into a support role.
As PlayStation opted to take the sport offline on September 6 following a launch that saw low participant counts and underwhelming sales estimates, speculation has been rife regarding its potential reintroduction in a revised form, possibly as a free-to-play title. Sony may still be deliberating on its options.
According to reports from Kotaku, Jason Ellis, the veteran game developer and former Inventing Director at Bungie, has announced that he will be transitioning out of his role as the project lead on Destiny 2, a position he took in 2017.
“Ryan’s passion for the project was evident,” recalled a former developer, “despite potential missteps during development, he’s a truly great person, driven by his enthusiasm.”
As the situation unfolds, Kotaku reports that Firewalk employees are currently left in a state of uncertainty regarding their future and the studio’s trajectory, pending Sony’s decision on whether to proceed with Harmony or redirect resources elsewhere.
As some reportedly received requests to “craft pitches” for an upcoming project that might be tackled by the studio in the future, others within the studio speculate they may collaborate on developing another Sony first-party title. Meanwhile, a few anticipate that Harmony’s failure would lead to widespread layoffs and potentially even the shutdown of the entire studio.
“Harmony enthusiasts, we’ve been thoroughly considering your input as we prepare for the launch of Harmony on PlayStation 5 and PC, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who has joined our community aboard the Northstar,” Ryan Ellis wrote in the PlayStation blog post announcing Harmony’s shutdown.
“While acknowledging that many aspects of our game’s expertise resonated well with gamers, we also recognize that other elements of the game and its initial launch did not quite meet our intended standards.” Given this development, we have decided to temporarily suspend the game’s online presence as of September 6, 2024, allowing us to explore alternative solutions that better serve our players.
