Sony is pulling the plug on Concord only 11 days after the game suffered one of the most disastrous launches in recent memory.
With its focus on team-based battles between superpowered heroes, the multiplayer shooter tried to emulate Activision-Blizzard’s hit game Overwatch for the PS5 and PC crowd.
But, after a woeful debut, which saw a paltry 697 people playing Concord simultaneously on Steam, it will go down as one of the biggest flops in gaming history.
Unless Sony can revive the game, it’s set to be mentioned in the same breath as other bombs such as Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Redfall and Anthem.
When is Concord shutting down?
On Tuesday night (September 3), Sony announced it would take Concord offline on September 6, effectively rendering it unplayable.
How to get a Concord refund
It will also stop selling the game and offer refunds to those who purchased digital and physical copies, directly from PlayStation or third-party retailers.
The process will be automatic, with stores (including Steam and the Epic Games Store) processing refunds in the coming days.
For physical editions of the game, players must contact the retailer to claim a refund.
Why did Concord fail?
Sony’s decision to shutter Concord has sent shockwaves through a gaming industry roiled by mass layoffs. If a game that spent eight years in development could be axed in just over a week, developers asked what hope was there for other titles.
My heart breaks for Firewalk Studios.
— Stella😈 (@ParallaxStella) September 3, 2024
The fact that it wasn't even given at least six months to properly sit through a season and adjust as a proper live-service game is insane to me.
It's very clear PlayStation didn't believe in this from the start and failed to support it. https://t.co/5yeRESAbmF
To rub salt in the wound, Concord was supposed to be a major blockbuster for Sony and PlayStation. The shooter had all the hallmarks of a AAA game, including a substantial budget pegged to be between $100-150 million (£76m-£114m).
That wasn’t enough to convince gamers, who greeted Concord with a shrug. Perhaps it failed to stand out in a cluttered arena dominated by Overwatch, Valorant and Apex Legends.
Then again, plenty of similar games have managed to attract players in recent months, including newcomers such as Marvel Rivals and Valve’s Deadlock, two hero shooters are building communities through lengthy beta phases.
We’re still unsure why Sony thought charging £40 for the game was a good idea when most of its bigger competitors are free-to-play.
Game streamers and analysts have speculated about why Sony axed the game. Concord’s lengthy, eight-year development process meant it was chasing outdated trends, according to Twitch Streamer Pat Stares At.
It can't be overstated at how late Concord was. This game started it's life when Sony saw Overwatch. By the time Paladins came out on Steam in 2018 the market was already full. https://t.co/hKuKCQ0ypn
— Pat Stares At (@PatStaresAt) September 4, 2024
Despite strong gameplay and extensive development, Concord stumbled due to its lack of innovation, uninspired design, poor marketing, and an overemphasis on high-end features — ultimately offering no compelling reason for players to switch or try it out. This was the view of Daniel Ahmad, a senior gaming analyst at Niko Partners.
lots of ‘what went wrong with Concord’ talk and it’s actually pretty simple. Concord was doomed by leadership from the start. if you are making a multiplayer/competitive shooter you are likely to fail. that’s it. we have too many good games and not enough good new ideas
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) September 4, 2024
Meanwhile, esports consultant and industry insider Rod Breslau said Concord was destined to fail due to poor leadership and the oversaturated market for multiplayer shooters.
Here's the thing. Concord on paper has strong gameplay mechanics and is content complete, but it's also extremely over-engineered.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) September 3, 2024
They very clearly built this to be a AAA-level live experience from day one with multiple game modes, high end graphics (Motion capture), a ton of… https://t.co/gG8kUSlKTP
Will Concord come back?
Still, there is a glimmer of hope for Concord fans, who are killing themselves in the game to gain experience points before it shuts down.
This is literally every match of Rivalry in Concord rn because this is the fastest way to earn XP for the Platinum 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/BZ12OV7lc1
— Radec (@realradec) September 3, 2024
Sony said it would “explore options, including those that will better reach our players.” It added that it would determine “the best path ahead” for Concord, which could be meaningless boilerplate or a nod to some undetermined comeback.
The next time you see the game will probably be on Amazon’s upcoming animated anthology show, Secret Level, which features an episode dedicated to Concord — unless, that gets scrapped too.
