This may be one for the history books: Concord, Sony’s big budget, live service hero shooter, is being officially shut down, less than two weeks after an ill-fated launch.
Ryan Ellis, game director at Firewalk Studios, gave the dubious announcement on the official PlayStation Blog:
“While many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players.
“While we determine the best path ahead, Concord sales will cease immediately and we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased the game for PS5 or PC.”
The competitive online game has been completely removed from the PlayStation Store. Players can request refunds from PlayStation, Steam, and Epic Games for digital purchases. Retail purchasers will have to go through their respective retail stores.
In short, it’s a disaster.
Concord was first announced earlier this summer, with a quippy cinematic trailer that looked more like a single player story game than a live service multiplayer shooter. A beta ran later, but didn’t see much traction or enthusiasm.
Launch arrived less than two weeks ago and while we don’t know the PlayStation numbers, the PC numbers on Steam were incredibly grim for any AAA game, but especially a live service online game that requires, you know, players to play with!
There’s a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking on why a major studio game failed so spectacularly. A game that Firewalk Studios reportedly spent eight years working on. The character designs were lame or ugly or generic. The gameplay was modeled after Destiny PvP, which isn’t sustainable for an entire game. Or the premium price tag was too big an ask when most online hero shooters are free to play. Or maybe all of the above.
It’s still possible that Concord will re-release as a free to play experience. But Sony taking such drastic measures, including full refunds to all players, doesn’t spark much confidence in the product. Why would players bother? One must wonder how the game was able to launch at all.
It’s a sobering reminder that big budget does not equate to high quality, or even a modicum of success in an increasingly crowded genre.
Read more about new and upcoming online hero shooters!
