A labor union representing game developers has harshly criticized Sony’s recent decision to close two studios, including Concord developer Firewalk, saying the gaming giant is acting in an anti-competitive and monopolistic manner.
In a statement, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) said Sony’s recent decision to close Concord studio Firewalk and mobile game outfit Neon Koi “makes it clear that now more than ever, video game workers deserve a free and fair opportunity to join together to form unions.”
The video game industry has been rocked by mass layoffs and other significant shifts in recent years, and the CWA said the decisions to cut staff and cancel projects came from “highly insulated video game CEOs.”
The CWA statement went on to claim that Sony continues to act in a monopolistic way through the closure of studios and elimination of jobs.
“Sony’s decision to dissolve studios outside their walled garden of PlayStation-exclusive content rather than making games that have to compete in the highly diverse and competitive mobile game market should be a cautionary warning sign of Sony’s interest in furthering its monopoly position in the video game industry,” the group said.
Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad doesn’t agree with the logic here. He said on social media, “The argument doesn’t hold in this specific instance. The studios didn’t have dominant positions prior to being acquired. It was a consequence of poor management.”
The CWA went on to say it will raise its concerns about Sony’s “increasing monopoly and monopsony power” with regulators, policymakers, and stakeholders in the future.
Nearly 250 people at Fallout and Elder Scrolls developer Bethesda Game Studios recently formed a union with the CWA. This is part a wider trend in the video game industry of teams seeking collective bargaining agreements that seems to be picking up steam of late.
According to a report from Kotaku, the initial development contract for Concord amounted to $200 million–that figure was reportedly not sufficient to cover all game development costs. It also is claimed to be separate from costs related to Sony buying Firewalk and obtaining the Concord IP rights.
Concord was online for less than a month before Sony announced it would bring the game offline and refund all players. There was a period of time when some believed the game might resurface with a new business model or other changes, but that is not going to happen.
While Concord the game is not moving forward, the franchise will still show up in Prime Video’s video game TV series Secret Levels, which premieres this December.
