Sony Announced Concord Shutdown; Two Weeks After Launch

If comedy is tragedy plus timing, then the release, drop off, and cancelation of Sony’s Concord is the best comedy in gaming right now. Right up there with the release of Borderlands. As announced on the PlayStation Blog yesterday, there has been “an update” to Concord. It is being put in the bin.

“We’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC,” said Ryan Ellis, Game Director at developer Firewalk Studios. He goes on to thank fans for supporting the launch and the small community that has stood around this corpse, poking it with a stick while baring the smell. Jokes/insults aside, Ellis goes on to say, “[W]e 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.“

What does this mean? Well, PlayStation players will be refunded via the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct, Steam is set to begin refunding “over the coming days,” Epic Games Store players will be contacted by Epic’s customer support in the coming days, and physical copies are a mess that I can’t even be bothered to go through that process. Moreover, who honestly was out here buying a physical copy of Concord? Short term, this means players will get their money back (or equivalent returned to their PSN wallet), and you won’t be able to play a game deader than a tramp in a shallow grave.

Long-term, or more accurately PlayStation and Firewalk games are going to try and restructure Concord into something people actually want over the next six months. What players want, however, is exactly what they have or something close to what they have had previously and that is what is wrong with Concord in the first place. I’ve already said it, Concord is a mix of Overwatch 2 and Valorant, with a dash of Guardians of the Galaxy as that green guy looks like Michael Rooker. The trouble with the “same, but different” thing is that players also don’t want anything too different.

Speaking beyond six months and thinking about the actual ramifications here, I wouldn’t be surprised to see layoffs and a studio shutdown. It isn’t nice to say, but I’m being realistic as we’ve seen for more than a year of constant, never-ending layoffs since 2023, it is the biggest possibility. What’s annoying about this is that anyone with two working brain cells that don’t need blue pills to rub together could see this from a mile away. I’d argue it’s the suits that possibly pushed for this and made sure Concord launched as a full-priced title too, in a market oversaturated and dominated by free-to-play titles.

Hopefully, Firewalk Studios can take the next few/couple of months to reform and better fit Concord for the market it is supposed to be released. I don’t want to say it is a stay of execution for the studio, but I’d be willing to bet that there is a clock over the studio acquired in April of 2023 by Sony, a clock that probably will result in overtime/crunch to meet a deadline or walk to the guillotine.