Sony has announced that new PlayStation 5 shooter Concord, which released on 23 August, is to be taken offline just two weeks later, with refunds issued to every player who bought it.
The game is a team-based hero shooter in the vein of Activision-Blizzard’s hit Overwatch, pitting teams of five against each other in tight combat arenas, and its launch has been one of the most high-profile flops of the gaming year. It has recorded player counts in the mere hundreds on Steam, the most popular PC marketplace, and is estimated to have sold fewer than 25,000 copies, according to analysts at GameDiscoverCo.
“Concord fans – we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC … Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game has meant the world to us,” reads Sony’s statement on the PlayStation blog. “However, while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognise 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 6 September 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.”
This is not the first high-profile multiplayer game that has failed to live up to expectations this year. Warner Bros’ Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League also failed to land with players. In contrast, the tongue-in-cheek squad shooter Helldivers II has been a huge hit for Sony since its February launch, selling more than 12m in its first three months.
It is nonetheless rare for a struggling multiplayer game to be pulled from sale so quickly. Other failed games, such as Evolve, Lawbreakers and Paragon, have typically lasted around a year. The future of Concord is unclear: the statement does not state whether the game is cancelled for good or whether it will make a return at some point down the line.
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Concord was reportedly in development for eight years, at a cost of an estimated $100m+. Sony bought its maker Firewalk Studios in 2023 for an undisclosed sum. It was one of several acquisitions of live-service game developers made in the past few years, as the PlayStation 5 platform holder bet big on long-tail multiplayer games.