Liquid Swords, a Swedish game developer founded by a key developer of the 'Just Cause' series, has gone bankrupt just six months after releasing its debut title.
The Stockholm District Court in Sweden issued a bankruptcy ruling against Liquid Swords on October 12. According to local outlet Breakit, the company failed to pay employee salaries for at least two months, leading unpaid employees to file for bankruptcy themselves. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the remaining 27 employees will be laid off, with their unpaid wages expected to be covered by Sweden's national wage guarantee system.
Liquid Swords was founded in 2020 by Christofer Sundberg, co-founder of Avalanche Studios who worked on 'Just Cause'. Its debut title, 'Samson', is an open-world game focused on crime and vehicular action that was released for PC on April 8 of this year, followed by PS5 and Xbox Series X|S releases on September 21. However, upon release, it received mixed reviews due to various technical issues and bugs, recording a Metacritic critic score of 51.
The development process was far from smooth as well. Originally planned as a large-scale action RPG, 'Samson' underwent changes in scope and structure after struggling to secure a publisher, and Liquid Swords laid off about half of its staff last year due to financial difficulties. Although the studio continued releasing updates after launch to improve the game, it ultimately failed to overcome its financial crisis.
In fact, Liquid Swords continued post-launch support for the game even after wage payments were halted. On October 8, the studio deployed an update for the PC version, while the console versions had been out for less than a month. However, the game's release and updates were seemingly not enough to improve the company's financial condition.
Founder Sundberg also officially confirmed the studio's closure via social media on October 19. He explained that while the console versions of 'Samson' performed significantly better than the PC release, it was not enough to save the company. Expressing pride in what the development team achieved, he stated that discussions are currently underway regarding potential ongoing support for 'Samson'. However, with the studio's closure confirmed, it remains uncertain what form future updates might take.
Meanwhile, law firm Cirio, appointed as the bankruptcy administrator, is seeking a buyer for 'Samson''s intellectual property (IP), development assets, and company equipment. The deadline for preliminary bids from prospective buyers is October 21; however, even if a buyer emerges, employment contracts for the existing development team will not automatically transfer. Consequently, the future operation and continued updates for 'Samson' remain unconfirmed and look grim.
