Liquid Swords, the developer of Samson, has entered bankruptcy proceedings after failing to pay wages for several consecutive months. Nearly 30 affected employees will receive financial compensation or wage guarantees from the government, while the administrator handling the liquidation hopes to find a buyer to secure a future for the studio or its assets.
Liquid Swords was founded by Christofer Sundberg. Sundberg is also a co-founder of Avalanche Studios and formerly served as the creative lead for the Just Cause series. Samson is Liquid Swords' only game project, with development dating back to at least 2020.
The team previously stated that Samson was inspired by violent, realistic open-world games such as Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto. Upon release, the game received a Metacritic media average score of 51 and a user score of 5.2, with similarly mixed reviews on Steam.
Negative reviews mainly focus on numerous bugs, sluggish controls, and poor combat experience. One player noted that issues remained unresolved even after returning to the game months later; more positive reviews praised the game's atmosphere and its optimization for Steam Deck. Currently, the fate of project assets, employees, and potential buyers remains undetermined.