Liquid Swords, the Swedish studio and publisher behind Samson: A Tyndalston Story, was declared bankrupt by the Stockholm District Court on October 12, according to Swedish outlet Breakit, as echoed by Kotaku and VGC. The court-appointed administrator has already put the studio, and the game, up for sale.

What was reported

According to Kotaku, the bankruptcy order came on October 12, after reports that the studio's roughly 30 developers had not been paid since August. VGC adds that the Swedish state is expected to cover the staff's overdue pay and that the company hopes to find a buyer.

The law firm Cirio Law, appointed administrator, opened the sale of the developer and its assets, including Samson. Per Kotaku, the bidding window closes on October 21, and that process will decide whether the game keeps receiving updates.

Who is Liquid Swords

The studio was founded in 2020 by Christofer Sundberg, co-founder of Avalanche Studios, who oversaw the four main Just Cause games. Sundberg is also the company's COO. In February 2025, Liquid Swords had already announced layoffs, and he described the company as being in a difficult position.

Samson: a rocky launch

Samson, the studio's only game, is an open-world action adventure that reached Steam on April 8, 2026 and, per Kotaku, sits at 51 on Metacritic. Criticism centered on bugs and performance problems. Sundberg apologized on Steam, called the launch state "unacceptable" and promised to fix the worst issues. The PS5 and Xbox Series versions arrived on September 21, and the studio even shipped a Steam update on October 8, despite the financial crisis.

What is still unknown

  • Who will buy the studio or the game, and whether a sale will happen at all.
  • Whether Samson will keep getting fixes after October 21.
  • Any official statement from Sundberg or Liquid Swords: as of the articles cited, none had been posted on the studio's social accounts.

Why it matters

The case shows the risk facing independent studios that bet on ambitious open-world games, an expensive genre, in a market where the launch of GTA 6 is approaching.