"I've done everything I can to make this succeed."

UPDATE 19TH OCTOBER: Liquid Swords founder and CCO Christofer Sundberg has confirmed the studio's closure.

Writing on LinkedIn, Sundberg said the studio was in discussions with "all parties involved in Liquid Swords" about continuing support for Samson, and though there's nothing yet to announce, "it's something we're working to resolve".

Sundberg also revealed that he's got plans to start a new studio "built with the current market in mind", and that he'll have more to share soon.

His full statement is as follows:

"Liquid Swords is closing its doors. I've done everything I can to make this succeed, and I'm very proud of what we achieved together.

"It's been a hell of a ride and a lot of fun, even when the circumstances gave us very little to laugh about. Building a studio, creating Samson and releasing it on PC and consoles took an enormous amount of work from people who cared deeply about what we were making.

"The console versions met with much greater success than the PC release. We got them out, but that success wasn't enough to get the company across the finish line. Market conditions and some bad business decisions brought us here, and I own my part in that. I can look honestly at what went wrong and still be proud of what we built.

"We're also in discussions with all parties involved in Liquid Swords about how we can continue to support Samson the way the game deserves. There's nothing to announce on that yet, but it's something we're working to resolve.

"To everyone who worked at Liquid Swords, our partners and everyone who supported us and played Samson: thank you. You gave us plenty of reasons to keep fighting, and the work we did together deserves to be remembered for more than how the company ended.

"We make mistakes, we learn, we fall, we rise up, we move on. That's sometimes a painful process, especially when it affects people you care about, but I refuse to give up. I never give up.

"I'll be back at it again soon and will share more about my plans for a new studio. It will be built with the current market in mind, with a solid foundation and business decisions that give the games and the people making them room to succeed. The lessons from Liquid Swords will be part of how I build it.I still love making games.

"There's a lot more I want to do, and I intend to get on with it."

ORIGINAL STORY 18TH OCTOBER: Swedish studio Liquid Swords, maker of action game Samson, has reportedly been put into bankruptcy.

Break It (thanks, PC Gamer) reports that the studio's almost 30 employees will be compensated by the state, and that the bankruptcy trustee is looking for a buyer.

The original report suggests Liquid Swords has not paid its developers for months, but the bankruptcy order, thought to have been issued on 12th October, should mean unpaid salaries will be covered by Sweden's state wage guarantee.

Christofer Sundberg, who co-founded Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios, set up Liquid Swords in 2020.

Samson: A Tyndalston Story, the studio's first game, launched on PC on 8th April, followed by PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on 21st September. The studio initially had difficulty securing a publisher, and reviews were ultimately mixed with players complaining of technical and performance issues.

Liquid Swords is the latest studio hit by job losses. On 22nd September, Xbox confirmed 268 more layoffs and moved Rare and World's Edge under Activision, which will now develop the next Halo game, while Supermassive Games appears to have lost more than 70 staff earlier this month.

Xbox also said that day it was beginning consultation on a proposed closure of Ninja Theory after two separate agreements for the studio fell through.

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