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Concord (video game)

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Concord
Developer(s)Firewalk Studios
Publisher(s)Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s)Ryan Ellis
Composer(s)Daniel Pemberton
EngineUnreal Engine 5[1]
Platform(s)
ReleaseAugust 23, 2024
Genre(s)Hero shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Concord was a multiplayer first-person hero shooter game developed by Firewalk Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 23, 2024. Set in a retro-futuristic sci-fi world inhabited by coexisting humans and humanoid aliens, it revolved around battles between teams of competing mercenaries.

Developed over eight years and on a reported US$400 million budget, the game was intended as a tentpole title by Sony, who believed it would eventually expand into a Star Wars-level franchise with numerous spinoffs.[2]

Concord released to mixed reviews from critics. It experienced unprecedentedly low sales for a project of its size, and was shut down on September 6, 2024, two weeks after its launch, with all sold copies being refunded.[2] On October 29, Sony announced the closure of Firewalk Studios and the permanent halting of the game's development.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot of Concord. The map's capture points are depicted at the top-center of the screen.

Concord was a sci-fi player-versus-player hero shooter video game played from a first-person perspective.[3] The game featured a variety of alien characters, each with different abilities, such as robot legs for high jumps and diamond skin for enhanced damage absorption. One of the groups within the game was known as the Freegunners, who were mercenaries.[4]

The initial preview revealed five characters, and the game released with sixteen characters.[5] The game was expected to have free post-launch updates that would have added more characters and maps.[4] The game would have featured new cutscenes about the characters and the ongoing story every week.[6]

Development and release

Concord was the only game developed by Firewalk Studios, a studio located in Bellevue, Washington, and founded in 2018. Firewalk initially developed Concord in collaboration with its parent company, ProbablyMonsters, until the studio was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in April 2023.[7]

Firewalk Studios officially announced Concord during the PlayStation Showcase on May 24, 2023, with a CGI trailer.[8] A beta for the game was released in July 2024 to underwhelming player numbers. The game was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 23, 2024.[9][10]

Firewalk Studios reported that the game was in development for around eight years.[11] According to video game podcast host Colin Moriarty, citing an unnamed Concord developer, the game had a budget of $400 million, although this figure was disputed by several PlayStation developers on social media.[2][12] He stated that an internal culture of workplace toxic positivity and a belief that it was impossible for the game to fail caused critical feedback to go ignored.[12]

Reception

Critical response

Concord received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic, based on 45 reviews for the PlayStation 5 and 20 reviews for PC.[13][14] On OpenCritic, the game is recommended by 22% of 62 critic reviews.[15]

Push Square rated it seven out of ten, and wrote: "Firewalk's debut may not be out of this world, but it's genuinely pretty good overall."[22] Digital Trends rated it three out of five, and wrote: "Concord has the bones of a fun multiplayer game, but it's missing the meat."[16] Video Games Chronicle rated it three out of five, and was critical of the $40 price, advising players to wait until the game was available on PlayStation Plus.[24] Eurogamer rated it three out of five, attributing the rating to the heroes' "muddled" character design, writing: "The heroes seem to be visually either under or overdesigned".[17] Nova Smith of PC Gamer rated Concord 45 out of 100, describing it as "underbaked, overpriced, and dated" while criticizing the game for its "agonizingly slow movement speed", uninspired map design and "forgettable" cast of characters.[25]

Sales

Upon release, the game was a commercial failure that failed to exceed 700 simultaneous players on the Steam platform, far lower than the 400,000 initial Steam players of a different first-party live service multiplayer game released by Sony on PC and PS5 the same year, Helldivers 2. PCGamesN attributed its poor sales to a combination of a lack of uniqueness and a high price while competing in a heavily saturated market dominated by free-to-play games like Overwatch 2 and Valorant.[26]

One week after launch, the game ranked 40th on the PlayStation Store in terms of sales, with a player count on Steam measured at 162 on August 29.[27] It was estimated that less than a week after release the game had sold a total of around 25,000 units, with sales of 10,000 on Steam and 15,000 on PlayStation.[28]

During its two weeks on the market, the game was reported to have grossed a total of $1 million.[2]

Shutdown

On September 3, Sony announced that Concord would be taken offline and that all copies of the game that had been sold up to that point would be refunded, citing that "aspects of the game and our initial launch didn't land the way we'd intended" and that they would "explore options, including those that will better reach our players". The game was delisted from digital storefronts,[29] and the game's servers went offline just after 17:00 (UTC) on September 6, 2024.[30]

The swift shutdown was attributed to several factors, including Concord's failure to differentiate itself from established hero shooter games like Overwatch and Apex Legends, its lack of innovative gameplay mechanics, its generic character roster, and its poor map design.[31] The game also faced criticism for being a full-priced release in a genre where most competitors are free-to-play, as well as its eight-year development cycle making it feel outdated upon release, with it struggling to align with evolving market trends and player expectations.[32]

Due to the commercial failure of the game, its game director Ryan Ellis announced to Firewalk's staff that he would be stepping down from his game director role and move into a support role instead.[33]

In October 2024, Sony shut down the game permanently and closed Firewalk Studios.[34]

Animated short

The game was adapted in an episode of the video game anthology series Secret Level.[35][36] Despite the game's shutdown, its episode will remain in the series.[37]

References

  1. ^ Morgan, Thomas (July 17, 2024). "Concord: Guardians of the Galaxy meets a next-gen Overwatch?". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Fischer, Tyler (September 20, 2024). "Concord Reportedly Cost Record-Breaking $400 Million, PlayStation Thought It Was the Next Star Wars". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  3. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (May 30, 2024). "Concord Gets New Cinematic and Gameplay Trailer, and a Release Date - State of Play 2024". IGN. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Yang, George (May 30, 2024). "PlayStation's Concord is coming to both PS5 and PC this August". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  5. ^ Gurwin, Gabe; Carr, James (May 30, 2024). "New Sony Game Concord's Debut Trailer Gives Off Big Guardians Of The Galaxy Energy, Beta And Date Confirmed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Middler, Jordan (June 27, 2024). "First Look: PlayStation's Concord is Breaking New Ground in How Live Service Games Tell Stories". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  7. ^ Peters, Jay (April 20, 2023). "PlayStation acquires Firewalk Studios, which is building an 'original AAA multiplayer game'". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  8. ^ Ellis, Ryan (May 24, 2023). "Introducing Concord—a new PVP multiplayer FPS from Firewalk Studios coming to PS5 and PC". PlayStation.Blog. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  9. ^ Gach, Ethan (May 30, 2024). "Our First Look At Concord, PlayStation's Guardians Of The Galaxy-Infused Hero Shooter". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Ramsay, Robert (July 18, 2024). "There's Already Concern Over Concord's Player Count as Open Beta Begins". Push Square. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Warren, Tom (September 3, 2024). "Sony is taking Concord offline on September 6th after disastrous launch". The Verge. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Blake, Vikki (September 21, 2024). "Concord reportedly cost £300m [$400m] to make amid a culture of 'toxic positivity'". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Concord for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Concord for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Concord Reviews". OpenCritic. August 27, 2024. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Colantonio, Giovanni (August 23, 2024). "Concord review: Promising PS5 shooter is lost in space for now". Digital Trends. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Lane, Rick (August 27, 2024). "Concord review - a hero shooter that nails the shooting, but fumbles the heroes". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on August 30, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  18. ^ Tyrer, Ben (August 28, 2024). "Concord review: "Plenty of characters and little personality"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  19. ^ Dunsmore, Kevin (August 27, 2024). "Review: Concord". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  20. ^ Northup, Travis (August 27, 2024). "Concord Review". IGN. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Cuevas, Zackery (September 1, 2024). "Concord (for PlayStation 5) Review". PCMag. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Barker, Sammy (August 24, 2024). "Concord Review (PS5)". Push Square. Archived from the original on August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  23. ^ Erskine, Donovan (August 30, 2024). "Concord review: An expedition to find the next big thing". Shacknews. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Middler, Jordan (August 24, 2024). "Review: Concord is a good shooter divorced from the reality of its genre". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  25. ^ a b Smith, Nova (August 28, 2024). "Concord review". pcgamer. Archived from the original on September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Nelson, Will (August 24, 2024). "Concord can't even reach 1,000 Steam players at launch, and here's why". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  27. ^ Swan, Cameron (August 29, 2024). "What to Expect from Concord's Post-Launch Support". Game Rant. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  28. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (August 30, 2024). "Concord Is Estimated to Have Sold Only 25,000 Units. Here's Why Analysts Think It's Failing". IGN. Archived from the original on August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  29. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (September 3, 2024). "Concord Is Suddenly Getting Pulled Offline With Sony Promising Full Refunds". IGN. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  30. ^ Carpenter, Lincoln (September 6, 2024). "Streamers captured Concord's final moments as the servers went offline: 'What a huge f***ing honor'". PC Gamer. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  31. ^ Webster, Andrew (September 4, 2024). "Concord was worse than bad — it was forgettable". The Verge. Archived from the original on September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  32. ^ Kim, Matt (August 29, 2024). "Why Concord Failed". IGN. Archived from the original on September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  33. ^ Gach, Ethan (September 19, 2024). "Concord Director Steps Down As Studio Behind Historic PlayStation Flop Waits For Sony's Decision". Kotaku. G/O Media. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  34. ^ Warren, Tom (October 29, 2024). "Sony closes Concord studio and permanently shuts down the game". The Verge. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  35. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (August 21, 2024). "Secret Level: Every Video Game In The New Gamescom Trailer". IGN. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024. it's already getting an animated spinoff thanks to Secret Level.
  36. ^ Washenko, Anna (August 20, 2024). "Animated video game anthology series Secret Level is coming to Prime Video". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 1, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  37. ^ Bailey, Kat (September 5, 2024). "Concord Will Remain in Prime Video's Secret Level Despite Game's Sudden Cancellation - Source". IGN. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
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