Concord

An important Concord update: we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, in order to explore other possibilities, including those that will best serve our players.

Concord lovers, we’ve been listening to your input since the game’s release on PlayStation 5 and PC, and we’d like to thank everyone who has accompanied us on this adventure onboard the Northstar. Your support and the enthusiastic community that has formed around the game have meant everything to us.

However, while many elements of the experience connected with gamers, we acknowledge that other aspects of the game and our original launch did not go as planned. As a result, we have chosen to take the game offline commencing September 6, 2024, in order to look for alternative solutions, including those that would better reach our gamers.

Sony is bringing Concord offline on September 6th, following a terrible launch.

Due to the game’s weak sales, Sony is pulling Concord, their newest PlayStation title, from the playable platform on September 6. On August 23, the first-person shooter went live only on the PlayStation 5 and PC. However, sales estimates place the game’s total at less than 25,000.

Even Concord’s Steam peak of 697 players was lower than that of the worst game of 2023, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which was launched at the same time.

“We’ve opted to take the entire game offline starting September 6, 2024, to explore options, including those that will better reach our players,” said Concord game director Ryan Ellis in a PlayStation blog post. “While we determine the most suitable path ahead, Concord sales will cease immediately and we will begin to offer a full reimbursement for all gamer who have purchased the video game for PS5 or PC.”

If you bought the game for PS5 from the PlayStation Store, you will receive a refund to your original payment method. If you purchased Concord on Steam, you will receive a refund in the coming days, and the same will be done on the Epic Games Store.

Concord debuted as a $40 game after eight years of development, competing against various free-to-play options such as Overwatch and even Valorant in the competitive hero shooter genre. It has eventually failed to compete as a paid game, particularly without a distinct selling feature.

Firewalk Studios’ reference of choices “that will better reach our players” and the reimbursements suggest that Concord, if it returns, would adopt a free-to-play model. “We’ll keep you updated and thank you again to all the Freegunners who have joined us in the Concord galaxy,” Ellis tells you.

Concord is suddenly being pulled offline, with Sony promising full refunds.

Concord, a PlayStation hero shooter, will be taken offline on September 6, 2024, with all players receiving a full refund, Sony stated today.

Director Ryan Ellis announced on the PlayStation Blog that “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.”

Concord will be pulled offline to allow Sony and developer Firewalk Studios to “explore options, including those that will better reach our players.”

The game will be pulled from sale immediately, and anybody who purchased it through the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct will receive a refund to their original payment method. Those who purchased through Steam and the Epic Games Store will receive a refund in the coming days.

Physical refunds are more difficult to receive, although players can contact specific stores to request one. Sony will most likely work with them to create a mechanism that allows for full refund processing. “Once refunded, players will no longer have access to the game,” Sony stated.

Concord withdrawn less than two weeks after launch.

Concord was released on August 23, 2024, which means it was pulled from sale barely 11 days after launch and made unavailable to all players two weeks later. Even those that purchased Concord will be unable to play after September 6.

Its introduction was dismal, with analysts estimating that it sold as few as 25,000 units. It premiered on Steam with a dismal 697 peak concurrent players, making the 12,786 players of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which was deemed a disappointment by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav and resulted in a $200 million revenue hit, look like titans.

This comes after eight years of research and potentially tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of dollars invested by Sony, which is already rumored to be moving its focus away from a live service-heavy future. Sony President Hiroki Totoki has committed to launching only six of the 12 live service games in development, with one based on The Last of Us already shelved.