Concord
The saga of Concord may be coming to a complete and total end less than two weeks after launch. PlayStation and Firewalk have announced that Concord will be taken offline in three days on September 6, maybe temporarily, maybe forever, it’s not clear. And refunds will be issued across all platforms.
Here’s what the post from Ryan Ellis, Game Director of Firewalk, says in the post:
“Concord fans — we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC and want to thank everyone who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar. Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game has meant the world to us.
However, 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. If you purchased the game for PlayStation 5 from the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct, a refund will be issued back to your original payment method.”
“Explore options that will better reach our players” sounds like it’s possible the game will eventually be made free-to-play, but as I’ve previously discussed, it’s a difficult switch to simply flip two weeks after launch. Though taking a game like this fully offline is almost unprecedented for a major release like this. Offhand I cannot think of this happening with a project this size, this quickly.
Yes, refunds will be issued across all platforms. Reports indicate that the game only moved 25,000 units so far, so it’s not exactly a critical mass of players, which of course, was the main problem. The game debuted with under 700 players on Steam, and less than two weeks later it is around 100 a night. It is the 154th most-played game in the PlayStation store.
It is difficult, if not impossible to imagine that Concord can make some sort of 2.0 return. While the game refers to “aspects of the game and initial launch” that didn’t land, it’s fundamentally a 5v5 hero shooter with an unappealing roster of characters. Tweaks to gameplay or modes or a switch to free-to-play would not meaningfully move the needle. Sony may simply need to call it a day on Concord for good, it does not seem like there’s a way forward here.
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