Liquid Swords Bankruptcy Puts Samson Intellectual Property Up for Sale

Liquid Swords AB, the Swedish studio behind the open city crime game Samson, has been declared bankrupt by Stockholm District Court, triggering a court supervised sale of the game and its intellectual property. The October 12, 2026 ruling leaves the fate of the debut title in the hands of a trustee, Karl Björlin of the law firm Cirio, who is inviting bids for the business or its assets. The sale includes the Samson IP and related development material, but not the studio's staff or its Unreal Engine licence.

PC Gamer reported on October 18, 2026 that Liquid Swords was declared bankrupt after roughly 30 staff went unpaid for at least two months. According to Swedish business outlet Breakit, it was the employees who petitioned to have the company declared bankrupt. The human cost is central to the story: the people who built Samson were not paid, and the legal process now determines what happens to the game they made.

Liquid Swords was founded in 2020 by Christofer Sundberg, who previously co-founded Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios and co-directed the series' first game. Samson was the studio's debut title, an open city crime sim in which the player is a getaway driver trying to repay an enormous mob debt. The project was intended as a much larger action RPG at first, and its path to release was difficult.

The studio struggled to find a publisher, and one publisher rejected the game five times. In 2025 Liquid Swords laid off half its team amid funding trouble and radically changed the game's structure, producing its run based design. Samson launched in April 2026 to mixed reviews, with bugs and technical issues compounded by unfavourable Grand Theft Auto comparisons. Liquid Swords shipped a patch as recently as October 8, but interest did not recover enough to keep the studio solvent.

Key Facts

Cirio reported in preliminary bidding documents dated October 15, 2026 that Liquid Swords AB, registration number 559275-6240, was declared bankrupt by Stockholm District Court on October 12, 2026, and that Karl Björlin was appointed official receiver. The company is headquartered at Hesselmans Torg 14 in Nacka and develops computer and video games and related intellectual property. Its business consisted of developing, publishing and supporting Samson, including source code, development and build tools, graphics, audio, design material, narrative content and documentation.

The estate's assets are essentially the IP rights to Samson and other IP, plus development assets, equipment and inventory. Financially, the company had no recorded net turnover in 2024 because it was still developing its first game; the result after financial items was a loss of approximately SEK 39.3 million in 2024, and the equity ratio was 43.3 percent at year end 2024. Since release, Samson has sold approximately 151,900 copies across Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox and Steam, generating aggregate net revenue of approximately SEK 24.1 million as of October 14, 2026.

The sales report gives a closer view of demand: 83,990 copies on Steam since April 8, 54,380 on PlayStation and 13,530 on Xbox since the September 21 console launch. The sale package includes the Liquid Swords trademark and unregistered names Criminal Justice and Tyndleston, domains such as thesamson.com, social media accounts, office equipment and servers. Certain Samson assets are subject to security granted in favour of NetEase, a minority investor since 2022, so a buyer wanting them free of the encumbrance must negotiate a release with NetEase or obtain consent to the transfer.

The Unreal Engine licence from Epic Games is not part of the sale, and a buyer would need its own Epic licence and platform developer or publisher status. Liquid Swords has 27 employees, all of whom will be dismissed, and employment contracts do not transfer. Indicative bids for the business or its assets were due by 12:00 CEST on October 21, 2026. The estate said it would seek to maintain continuity of Samson operations, including support, patches and commercial activity.

Analysis

What this really means is that this is not a rescue of a studio but a disposal of intellectual property. The numbers explain why. Samson generated about SEK 24.1 million in net revenue from roughly 151,900 copies, while the company posted a loss of approximately SEK 39.3 million in 2024 alone. A buyer is being asked to price a game with mixed reviews, a security interest held by NetEase and no transferable Epic Games licence, not a going concern with a ready team.

Insider Gaming reported on October 16, 2026 that Samson received a 51 Metacritic score and a 5.2 user score, with Steam reviews also mixed. Players complained about bugs and slow to respond controls. One Steam review quoted by the outlet said the game had many bugs and very bad combat, and that a patch had not fixed the problems. More positive reviews praised the atmosphere and Steam Deck optimisation. Those are real strengths, but they sit inside a commercial and technical record that makes the IP a speculative purchase.

GameFragger reported on October 18, 2026 that the estate invited written bids for the company as a whole or individual assets, with indicative bids due by noon on October 21, 2026. The same report noted that most of what is for sale is intellectual property, and that NetEase holds security over many Samson assets. The structure matters: a buyer may acquire code, art, audio, design material, narrative content, domains and social accounts, but must separately solve the NetEase encumbrance and the Epic Games licence issue before it can operate the game on PlayStation, Xbox or Steam.

The bigger picture here is that the market is being asked to value a distressed debut title after a public failure. Samson's April launch, its October 8 patch and its September 21 console release show a team still trying to improve the game, but the bankruptcy timetable is now set by creditors and the trustee. The outcome depends on bids submitted by the October 21 deadline and on any negotiations that follow.

Why It Matters

For the 27 employees, the immediate effect is dismissal, though Sweden's state wage guarantee is expected to cover unpaid salaries. PC Gamer reported on October 18, 2026 that around 30 staff had gone unpaid for at least two months; the trustee's document puts the workforce at 27. The counts differ between accounts, but the outcome is the same: the team loses its jobs and the game's future is separated from the people who built it.

For players, the estate's stated intention to maintain continuity is important. Support, patches and commercial activity are supposed to continue while the sale runs, and the sale package includes the source code, tools and narrative content needed to keep Samson alive. That does not guarantee a new owner will invest in fixes or new content, but it leaves open the possibility that the IP survives in some form. The inclusion of domains and social accounts suggests a buyer could also control the game's public identity, not just its code.

For the wider Swedish game industry, the case is a reminder that state wage guarantees protect workers from unpaid salaries but do not preserve studios. Liquid Swords was founded by a veteran of Avalanche Studios and Just Cause, and its failure shows how quickly a difficult development, a rejected pitch and a mixed launch can turn into insolvency. The sale also tests how platform holders and licensors treat distressed assets: Epic Games controls the engine licence, NetEase controls security over many assets, and both must be satisfied for a clean transfer.

Next Up

The immediate next step is the indicative bid deadline at 12:00 CEST on October 21, 2026. After that, the trustee can assess interest in the business as a whole and in individual assets, including the Samson IP. Any buyer wanting assets free of the NetEase security must negotiate a release or obtain consent, and any buyer wanting to operate Samson needs its own Epic Games licence and platform developer or publisher status.

The estate has said it will seek continuity of Samson operations, including support, patches and commercial activity, while the sale proceeds. Unpaid salaries will be covered by the Swedish state wage guarantee, according to PC Gamer. What remains unresolved is whether a buyer emerges for the IP, whether NetEase agrees to a release and whether Samson continues as a supported game or becomes an asset held for another purpose.