Fans Wave Goodbye to PlayStation Flop Concord as It Goes Dark — Maybe Forever

ByNews Polite

Concord is set to shut down today, September 6, and what players the game has remaining are waving goodbye to a shooter they were only able to play for two weeks.

Sony’s shock decision to haul the long-in-development PC and PlayStation 5 hero shooter offline just two weeks after launch amid disastrously low player numbers and terrible sales sent some players racing to nab its Platinum trophy in… creative ways.

“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,” Ryan Ellis, game director at Sony-owned developer Firewalk Studios, said at the time. “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.”

Some Concord players have suggested the game may return in free-to-play form, but Sony has made no such guarantee. And so today’s shutdown may end up being the last we see of Concord — ever.

Now, Concord’s community is sending its regards. “Been gaming for 35 years and have never experienced anything like the whiplash of Concord,” redditor Two_Bear_Arms said. “TBH it was pretty fun to be part of. Jumping in and enjoying the game, seeing all the drama online and now watching the dramatic death of Concord – just nuts!! I appreciate getting the refund and hope that Concord does make a return (in a significantly more appetizing form).”

Other players are celebrating finally nabbing that Platinum trophy just in the nick of time, a trophy that may end up being one of the rarest ever.

While Concord the video game is no more, it will live on later this year as part of Amazon’s Secret Level adult animation anthology series. But there remains concern about the fate of Firewalk, which Sony acquired in 2023, and Sony faces tough questions about its live service plans, which include Bungie’s Marathon and Haven’s Fairgame$.

Concord’s launch was nothing short of disastrous, with analysts telling IGN it has likely sold as few as 25,000 units. It debuted to a tragic 697 peak concurrent players on Steam, a number that made the 12,786 players of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which was dubbed a disappointment by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav and caused a $200 million hit to revenue, look like a titan.

Last year, Sony president Hiroki Totoki committed to launching just six of 12 live service games in development, and one based on The Last of Us has already been canceled.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].



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