Following Samson Developer's bankruptcy, its founder is considering how AI might factor into new studio plans, saying, "I want room to make a wrong turn."

Background: A Debut, Then a Bankruptcy Notice

Over the weekend, Swedish reports revealed that Samson studio Liquid Swords had gone bankrupt less than a year after releasing their debut crimebrawler. The timeline is short: a studio built around a first major game, a public release, and then a bankruptcy report before its first full year after launch had passed.

The studio’s founder, Christofer Sundberg, later confirmed that Liquid Swords are headed for closure. Sundberg is described as the former Just Cause lead, a role that places him in the lineage of the Just Cause series. The news therefore is not only about one studio shutting down, but about a public-facing team whose debut project now moves from development history into a sequence of release, instability, and closure.

Development Process: Sundberg Confirms Closure and Signals a Next Studio

Sundberg’s confirmation did not end with the studio’s fate. He also stated that he will not disappear from game development. In a LinkedIn post about Liquid Swords’ impending closure, he wrote, “I’ll be back at it again soon and will share more about my plans for a new studio.”

The post also gave the outline of what he wants the next attempt to be. He said the new studio “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.” He added, “The lessons from Liquid Swords will be part of how I build it. I still love making games.”

That wording matters for readers because it links the closure directly to the future plan. Liquid Swords is not being presented as a closed chapter with no consequences. It is being described as a source of lessons: about production, about market assumptions, about whether a studio can survive after its debut game fails to deliver the expected commercial or technical stability.

Latest Progress: A Smaller Studio, Lower Costs, and a Narrow Role for AI

Sundberg stressed that nothing is in place as of right now, but he offered more detail in a chat with PC Gamer. He said he envisions “A small, experienced team, low running costs and a game we can afford to finish without needing every sales forecast to come true.”

This is a clear shift from the scale implied by his former Just Cause lead background. The next studio he describes is not a large operation betting on every forecast landing perfectly. It is a smaller structure designed around a narrower set of assumptions. He also said the key is having “room to make a wrong turn, fix it, and keep going without putting the whole company at risk.”

Generative AI also factors into the plan, though Sundberg framed it as a tool rather than a replacement. He said he sees it being used “to help with prototyping, repetitive production tasks and testing.”

He was more direct about what it should not become. “We're not looking to replace roles with AI or treating it as a way to save money (or make money quickly), because AI is bloody expensive too,” he said. “And cutting corners in game development has a habit of coming back to bite you in the ass.”

He specified that he is “positive about these tools,” but does not believe simply declaring a company is “AI-first” is a viable production plan or business strategy. “You need people who understand the work well enough to know when AI helps and when to switch it off,” he added. “I'd like [people in the industry] to talk more openly about that.”

For readers, the practical takeaway is that Sundberg’s next studio concept is defined by two constraints: smaller scale and a limited role for automation. The studio he describes would not depend on grand forecasts, and it would not treat AI as a shortcut. It would rely on experienced people to decide where the tools help and where they become a liability.

What Samson’s Reception Suggests About the Risks

The reporting also notes that the writer and Julian played Samson earlier this year. During that experience, the writer encountered “the serious bugs which plagued the PC version early doors.” Julian was luckier in that regard.

Both players came to appreciate the distinct character offered by the game’s debt-paying central loop. At the same time, they acknowledged that the bugs and the clear limitations under which the game had been built meant the core idea did not achieve its full potential.

This does not provide a simple cause of the bankruptcy, and the source does not present it as one. But it shows the kind of pressure a debut studio faces when its central design idea is strong enough to be noticed, while technical problems and development limitations weaken the final delivery. For a studio with no second title to lean on, the gap between an interesting loop and a stable player experience can become decisive.

Current Stage: Closure Underway, New Studio Still a Plan

At this stage, Liquid Swords’ bankruptcy has been reported, and Sundberg has confirmed the studio is headed for closure. The new studio he has mentioned is not yet in place. Its shape is described through his public statements: a small experienced team, low running costs, a game that can be finished without every sales forecast coming true, and a limited use of generative AI for prototyping, repetitive production tasks, and testing.

The future for the developers remains uncertain. The coverage ends with hope that the people who made Samson land on their feet rather than face uncertain futures while their former boss moves on to his next chapter. For now, the timeline has reached a pause: one studio is closing, another is only being described, and the lessons of the first are meant to shape the second.