CWA speaks out against Sony ‘monopoly’ after Firewalk shutdown

Last week, Sony made the decision to pull the plug on Concord and the studio behind it, Firewalk. Now, one of the biggest tech-industry unions is speaking out against Sony claiming ‘monopolistic' tactics.

The Communication Workers of America (CWA), a union that represents several groups of game developers, has spoken out against Sony's decision to shut down Firewalk Studios, saying:

“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 interests in furthering their monopoly position in the video game industry”.

Game Developer reported further on the statement, saying: “CWA plans to raise the anti-competitive impacts of Sony’s increasing monopoly and monopsony power with the appropriate antitrust regulators, policymakers, and stakeholders.”

The CWA has been active in speaking out against mass layoffs across the industry in 2024. The union also raised a complaint against Microsoft following a round of job cuts at Activision Blizzard.

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KitGuru Says: I'm not sure there is anything monopolistic going on in this situation. If anything, I'm sure Sony wanted Concord to be a huge success and not have to cancel the project after an embarrassing public launch. 

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