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The Communication Workers of America (CWA) claims that Sony's decision to shut down Firewalk and Neon Koi is a move to “increase its monopoly position in the video game industry.”
As reported by Game Developer, the labor body criticized Sony's decision to close two of its studios this week.
Parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment, which only acquired Firewalk last year, confirmed on Tuesday that it was shutting down the company after its debut title Concord flopped.
“Collective bargaining not only allows workers a seat at the bargaining table to bargain for fair compensation, but also gives workers a say in how workers will be impacted by layoffs,” the CWA said in a statement.
Firewalk's first and only release was Concord, a live-service shooter that Sony signed early on in development with an initial valuation of $200 million, according to Kotaku.
The source stated that the amount was not enough to cover the game's full development, and also did not include the acquisition of IP rights to Washington-based Concord or Firewalk itself. Previous reports claimed the game would cost $400 million to make.
Sony took Concord offline and pulled the game from sale within two weeks of its release this summer, citing poor reception from players.
“Sony's decision to disband the studio outside the park of exclusive PlayStation content, rather than making games that must compete in the highly diverse and competitive mobile gaming market, should be a warning sign of Sony's interest in advancing their monopoly position in the mobile gaming market. video game industry,” continued CWA.
“CWA plans to address the anti-competitive impact of Sony's increasing monopoly and monopsony power with antitrust regulators, policymakers and appropriate stakeholders.”
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