Liquid Swords, the Swedish studio behind the open-world action game Samson, has been declared bankrupt after its developers went unpaid for several months. The Swedish state is now expected to step in to compensate the studio's approximately 30 employees while a search for a potential buyer begins.
Here's the thing: this outcome has been building for a while. The studio made headlines earlier this year when it announced layoffs in February 2025, with co-founder Christofer Sundberg describing the situation as "a deeply regrettable position, with no choice but to begin the formal process of parting ways with some of our talented team members." That round of cuts clearly wasn't enough to stabilize the business.
A rough launch that never fully recovered
Samson hit Steam and the Epic Games Store in April to a mixed reception, with player criticism landing squarely on the game's bug count at launch. The problems were significant enough that Sundberg addressed them publicly, acknowledging that Liquid Swords "released a game with flaws for a number of reasons" while stopping short of explaining what those reasons actually were.
His statement at the time struck an optimistic note. "Launching a game is a ton of work and I'm proud of the effort our team has put into seeing Samson from its initial concept, through release," he said, adding that the studio would "continue to keep our ears to the ground and improve the game with your support." That support, unfortunately, wasn't enough to keep the lights on.
Samson did eventually release on consoles in September, but the window between a troubled PC launch and a console port was apparently too short to generate the revenue the studio needed.
The weight of an ambitious debut
Liquid Swords was founded in 2020 by Christofer Sundberg, who also co-founded Avalanche Studios and served as creative director on the Just Cause series. The pedigree was real, and expectations for Samson reflected that. An open-world action game from a studio with that lineage carries a certain weight, and a buggy launch in a market that punishes first impressions can be very hard to recover from.
What most players miss in situations like this is how thin the margin is for a new studio releasing its first game, even one with experienced leadership. Samson was not a small indie experiment; it was a full open-world title competing in one of the most demanding genres in gaming. Without strong post-launch sales momentum, the financial runway disappears fast.
What happens to Samson now
The immediate question for anyone who bought Samson is what happens to the game. Bankruptcy proceedings don't automatically pull a game from storefronts, but continued support, patches, and the post-launch improvements Sundberg promised become far less likely without a functioning studio behind them.
The search for a buyer could change that picture. If a publisher or another developer acquires Liquid Swords' assets, there is a path where Samson continues to exist in some form. Whether anyone bites is a separate question entirely.
For the 30 or so developers caught in this, the situation is grim regardless of how the acquisition side plays out. Months of unpaid work followed by a bankruptcy declaration is a brutal way for a studio chapter to close.
Keep an eye on the Liquid Swords situation as the acquisition process develops. If you want to stay across the gaming industry while you wait, our gaming guides cover everything from competitive builds to progression systems. Check out the Deadlock Solomon guide for best builds and ability tips, or if Roblox is more your speed, the Sailor Piece Atomic Sword guide has you covered.
