Samson studio Liquid Swords goes bankrupt as the administrator looks for a buyer

What happened

According to law firm Cirio, the Stockholm District Court declared Liquid Swords AB bankrupt on October 12, 2026, and appointed lawyer Karl Björlin as administrator. The studio was founded in 2020 and, according to the administrator, brought together developers with experience at DICE, Rockstar, Starbreeze and Avalanche Studios.

Swedish outlet Breakit, cited by GAMETALK, reported on October 15 that the bankruptcy affects almost 30 employees. According to the same reports, staff had gone two months without pay and the employees themselves had petitioned for bankruptcy. Now that it is official, the Swedish state wage guarantee will cover the wages they are owed.

Samson, its only game

Samson, an action game about a man who returns to the city of Tyndalston to pay off dangerous debts, launched on Steam on April 8, 2026. It then came to PS5 and Xbox Series on September 21, according to Kotaku, and got an update on Steam on October 8, days before the bankruptcy.

The sale documents published by the administrator include figures: as of October 14, Samson had sold around 151,900 copies across PlayStation, Xbox and Steam, with net revenue of about SEK 24.1 million. In 2024, while the game was still in development, the company had no revenue and posted a loss of about SEK 39.3 million.

Up for sale, with NetEase in the picture

The company’s assets are mainly the intellectual property behind Samson: source code, tools, art, audio, narrative content and documentation, plus equipment and inventory. The administrator is accepting written indicative bids until 12:00 on October 21, 2026, and GAMETALK reports that it is hopeful of finding a buyer.

There is an important detail for anyone interested: some of those Samson assets are subject to security in favor of NetEase. According to the document, a buyer who wants them free of that encumbrance will have to negotiate a full or partial release with NetEase, or seek its consent to the transfer.

What happens to the game

For now, it isn’t known whether Samson will keep getting updates. According to Kotaku, neither the studio nor Christofer Sundberg has addressed the bankruptcy on social media, and the sale document notes that anyone who wants to keep selling and supporting the game on PlayStation, Xbox, Steam and the Epic Games Store will need their own agreements with each platform. The October 21 bidding deadline should shed more light on its future.