Liquid Swords, maker of Samson, files for bankruptcy

Written by Adriano Ladislau in Games

Published on October 21, 2026 18:30 UTC · Updated on October 21, 2026 23:27 UTC

Swedish studio founded by Christofer Sundberg closes six months after releasing Samson; the administrator seeks a buyer for the IP as staff go unpaid.

Liquid Swords, the Swedish studio founded in 2020 by Christofer Sundberg, co-founder of Avalanche Studios and a central figure behind the Just Cause series, had its bankruptcy declared by the Stockholm District Court on October 12, 2026. The ruling, first reported by Swedish outlet Breakit on October 15, came six months after the release of Samson: A Tyndalston Story, the company's first and only game, and after employees had gone at least two months without pay. About 27 people are being laid off, and bankruptcy administrator Karl Björlin of law firm Cirio is trying to sell the studio's intellectual property and assets. The deadline for indicative bids closed at noon on Wednesday, October 21.

The case sums up, in just a few months, the roller-coaster ride of a studio that launched with strong credentials, bet on an open-world crime and car-chase game, and watched the project lose scope, staff and finally the company itself. The Samson entry in the O Santuário Geek catalog records the PC release on April 8, 2026, and a run that never found commercial footing.

Unpaid wages and a bankruptcy requested by the employees themselves

According to Breakit, payroll stopped in August. With no prospect of being paid, the employees themselves filed the bankruptcy petition against Liquid Swords. The Stockholm District Court accepted the request on October 12 and appointed Karl Björlin of Cirio Advokatbyrå as administrator. The information was confirmed by Cirio's official statement and by outlets such as Gametalk.

With the collapse, the roughly 27 remaining employees are being dismissed. Their unpaid wages are expected to be covered by Sweden's state wage guarantee system, a mechanism that protects workers at insolvent companies. The measure eases the staff's immediate situation but does not settle the company's liabilities or guarantee that the game will continue.

Liquid Swords' estate consists mainly of the Samson intellectual property. The administrator has put the business, development assets and company equipment up for sale. Indicative bids had to be submitted in writing by noon on October 21, local time. Even if a buyer emerges, the current team's employment contracts are not automatically transferred.

What happened to Samson, the game that was supposed to save the studio

Samson: A Tyndalston Story arrived on PC on April 8, 2026, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions on September 21. The title offers an open-world crime and vehicle-action experience in Tyndalston, a fictional city where the protagonist returns to settle debts and protect his sister. The pitch drew attention because of Sundberg's pedigree and a team with veterans from DICE, Rockstar, Starbreeze and Avalanche itself.

In practice, however, the game failed to turn expectation into perceived quality. Its Metacritic score sits at 51 among critics, and Steam reception was mixed. Bugs, performance problems and unresponsive combat dominated complaints. Sundberg himself published an apology letter on Steam, calling the launch state "unacceptable" and promising to fix the most serious issues.

Neither patches nor the console launch reversed the picture. Liquid Swords kept updating the game even after it stopped paying wages: on October 8 it released a PC update, when the console versions had been on sale for less than a month. The team's resilience, however, was not enough to keep the finances afloat.

Documents from the administrator cited by Gametalk show that Samson had sold about 151,900 copies across PlayStation, Xbox and Steam by October 14, for roughly SEK 24.1 million in net revenue. That is a modest figure for an open-world project with years of development behind it.

Sundberg confirms the closure and negotiates the IP with NetEase

The founder broke his silence on October 19, confirming the shutdown on X. "Liquid Swords is closing. Samson did far better on consoles, but it wasn't enough to save the studio," he wrote. He also said he was proud of what the team achieved and that talks were underway about continued support for the game.

"Liquid Swords is closing. Samson did far better on consoles, but it wasn't enough to save the studio."

In an interview with Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Sundberg was more specific: only eight of the nearly 30 people are expected to continue on a new team, and he is in talks with NetEase, a minority owner since 2022, about licensing the Samson IP to continue development on a smaller scale. He summed up the outcome bluntly.

"We took a bet, failed, and here we are."

According to him, the problem was liquidity rather than sales. Revenue from the console launch only arrives at the end of the following month, and NetEase did not want to inject more money. Short cash at an operation that still had to support dozens of salaries and a newly released game sealed the company's fate.

From open-world promise to a liquidity crisis

Liquid Swords was founded in 2020, shortly after Sundberg left Avalanche. The studio launched with a promise to create ambitious narrative experiences and drew attention precisely because of its founder's history with the Just Cause franchise. Samson began life as a large-scale action RPG, but the project changed scope and structure after the team struggled to secure a publisher.

In 2025 the company had already laid off about half its staff because of financial difficulties. The final, smaller and more focused version leaned on hand-to-hand combat, car chases and an oppressive city as its setting. The game shipped, but its technical foundation did not match the ambition, and negative coverage spread quickly.

The trajectory echoes other independent studios that bet everything on a single mid-sized title and could not bridge the investment payback period. In the Swedish case, the combination of a troubled launch, short cash and dependence on one product made recovery practically impossible.

What happens to Samson now

The game's future depends on the sale process. Cirio is trying to find a buyer for the IP and assets, and the deadline for indicative bids closed on October 21. There is no guarantee that an interested party willing to take over development will appear, and the transfer of assets does not oblige a buyer to hire the original team.

If the sale does not move forward, Samson is likely to lose official support. Updates, bug fixes and any additional content depend on a new controller willing to invest in the title. Players who bought the game, including on consoles released just a month ago, now face an uncertain future.

A warning for the independent industry

Liquid Swords' bankruptcy is not an isolated case, but it serves as a thermometer for the market. Mid-sized studios face rising production costs, brutal competition for attention and an ever-shorter window for returns. When a launch stumbles, the cash runs out before any course correction.

For players, the next step is to follow the asset auction and hope Samson finds a buyer capable of preserving what the team built. For the industry, the reminder is that pedigree and ambition are no substitute for financial planning — and that behind every closure announcement there are dozens of professionals trying to figure out what comes next. Further developments on the IP sale are expected in the coming weeks; follow our Games section for coverage.

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