Head Of PlayStation Studios Herman Hulst Explains Why 'Concord' Failed, Promises 'Marathon' Won't Fail
Herman Hulst, the Head of PlayStation Studios, recently shared why Concord failed and promises the same thing won’t happen again with Bungie’s upcoming Marathon game.
During an apparently scripted Fireside Chat video that was part of Sony’s Game & Network Service Segment presentation, Hulst was asked, “What have you learned of your foray into live-game services including Concord and how does this relate to Marathon during the recent Alpha test?”
Hulst responded, “Live-service, we really see that as a great opportunity for us, but with this great opportunity are some unique challenges associated. So we’ve had some early success as with Helldivers 2. We’ve also faced some challenges as with the release of Concord. I think some really good work, actually, went into that title, some really big effort, but ultimately that title entered into a hypercompetitive segment of the market. I think it was insufficiently differentiated to be able to resonate with players.”
“And so we have reviewed our processes in light of this to deeply understand how and why that title failed to meet expectations to ensure that we aren’t going to make the same mistakes again,” he continued. “As I said earlier, we’ve introduced much more rigorous processes for validating, for revalidating our creative, our commercial, our development assumptions and hypotheses. And we now do that on a much more ongoing basis. That’s the plan that will ensure that we are investing in the right opportunities at the right time all while maintaining much more predictable timelines.”
Speaking specifically to Marathon, Hulst said, “For Marathon, it’s our goal to release a very bold, very innovative and deeply engaging title. It’s going to be the first new Bungie title in over a decade. So we’re really excited for that release. We’re monitoring. We’re going through the test cycles. We’re monitoring the closed Alpha cycle that the team has just gone through. We’re taking all the lessons learned and we’re using the capabilities that we’ve built and analytics and user testing to understand how audiences are engaging with the title.”
“Some of that feedback, frankly, has been varied, but it’s super useful. That’s why you do these testings. The constant testing and the constant revalidation of assumptions that we just talked about, to me, is just so valuable to iterate and constantly improve the title. So when launch comes we’re going to give the title the optimal chance of success. And this cycle of test, of iterate, of test again that is such a key component of the live service success both leading up to launch, but also throughout the life of the game. And we’re committed to continuing to leverage our learnings, to maximize engagement, and player satisfaction throughout the lifecycle of the title,” he concluded.
Concord and its developer Firewalk Studios were infamously shut down about a year after it was purchased from ProbablyMonsters. Hulst wrote back at the end of October 2024, “As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen SIE’s Studio Business, we have had to make a difficult decision relating to two of our studios – Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.”
Speaking specifically to Firewalk Studios, he said, “Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (An Important Update on Concord), certain aspects of Concord were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline. We have spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options. After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio. I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.”
Hulst then added, “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.”
“I know none of this is easy news to hear, particularly with colleagues and friends departing SIE. Both decisions were given serious thought, and ultimately, we feel they are the right ones to strengthen the organization,” Hulst continued. “Neon Koi and Firewalk were home to many talented individuals, and we will work to find placement for some of those impacted within our global community of studios where possible.”
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While some observers might be quick to note that the game’s live-service features might have been a significant problem with the game’s release, Hulst seemingly put that theory to bed when he revealed that over half of Helldivers 2’s revenue comes from microtransactions.
He said, “Microtransactions in [Helldivers 2] now make up more than half the revenue.”
What do you make of Hulst’s comments?
In my 20s, I used to read videogame marketing speak like this all the time and get all excited or interested. I can't imagine why. Look at this stuff. It is not just devoid of information, it is devoid of human communication:
"we’ve introduced much more rigorous processes for validating, for revalidating our creative, our commercial, our development assumptions and hypotheses. And we now do that on a much more ongoing basis."
That is ainformational.
The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again expecting things to change.