Concord (video game) explained

Concord
Developer:Firewalk Studios
Publisher:Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director:Ryan Ellis
Composer:Daniel Pemberton
Released:August 23, 2024
Genre:Hero shooter
Modes:Multiplayer
Engine:Unreal Engine 5[1]

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.

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. On October 29, Sony announced the closure of Firewalk Studios and the permanent halting of the game's development.

Gameplay

Concord was a sci-fi player-versus-player hero shooter video game played from a first-person perspective.[2] 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.[3]

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

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.[6]

Firewalk Studios officially announced Concord during the PlayStation Showcase on May 24, 2023, with a CGI trailer.[7] 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.[8] [9]

Firewalk Studios reported that the game was in development for around eight years.[10] According to video game podcast host Colin Moriarty, citing an unnamed Concord developer, the game had development costs of $400 million, although this figure was disputed by several PlayStation developers on social media.[11] [12] [13] Moriarty said the game had been intended as a tentpole title by Sony, who believed it would eventually expand into a major franchise akin to Star Wars. An internal culture of workplace toxic positivity and a belief that it was impossible for the game to fail caused critical feedback to be ignored.

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. On OpenCritic, the game is recommended by 22% of 62 critic reviews.

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."[14] 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."[15] 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.[16] 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.[18]

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 Helldivers 2, a first-party live service multiplayer game released by Sony on PC and PS5 the same year. 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.[19]

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.[20] 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.[21]

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,[22] and the game's servers went offline just after 17:00 (UTC) on September 6, 2024.[23]

The swift shutdown was attributed to several factors, including Concords 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.[24] 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.[25]

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.[26]

In October 2024, Sony shut down the game permanently and closed Firewalk Studios.[27] This made Concord the second shortest-living online game to date, eclipsed only by the eight-day service life of The Culling II.[28] [29]

In popular culture

The game was inducted into the "digital disasters" exhibit of the Museum of Failure.[30]

The game was adapted as an episode of the upcoming video game anthology series Secret Level.[31] [32] Despite the game's shutdown, its episode will remain in the series.[33]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Morgan . Thomas . Concord: Guardians of the Galaxy meets a next-gen Overwatch? . Eurogamer.net . en . 17 July 2024 . August 25, 2024 . September 1, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901154930/https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2024-concord-is-a-technically-solid-well-made-hero-shooter-with-much-potential . live.
  2. Web site: Dinsdale . Ryan . 2024-05-30 . Concord Gets New Cinematic and Gameplay Trailer, and a Release Date - State of Play 2024 . 2024-05-30 . . en . August 9, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240809114223/https://www.ign.com/articles/concord-gets-new-cinematic-and-gameplay-trailer-and-a-release-date-state-of-play-2024 . live.
  3. Web site: Yang . George . 2024-05-30 . PlayStation's Concord is coming to both PS5 and PC this August . 2024-05-30 . . en . September 1, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901155036/https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/concord-release-date-reveal-ps5/ . live.
  4. Web site: Gurwin . Gabe . Carr . James . 2024-05-30 . New Sony Game Concord's Debut Trailer Gives Off Big Guardians Of The Galaxy Energy, Beta And Date Confirmed . 2024-05-30 . . en-US . August 8, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240808053740/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-sony-game-concords-debut-trailer-gives-off-big-guardians-of-the-galaxy-energy-beta-and-date-confirmed/1100-6523822/ . live.
  5. Web site: Middler . Jordan . 2024-06-27 . First Look: PlayStation's Concord is Breaking New Ground in How Live Service Games Tell Stories . . 2024-08-27 . August 28, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240828001328/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/first-look-concord/ . live.
  6. Web site: Peters . Jay . 2023-04-20 . PlayStation acquires Firewalk Studios, which is building an 'original AAA multiplayer game' . 2024-05-30 . . en . May 31, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240531002231/https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/20/23691580/sony-playstation-firewalk-studios-acquisition-bungie . live.
  7. Web site: Ellis . Ryan . 2023-05-24 . Introducing Concord—a new PVP multiplayer FPS from Firewalk Studios coming to PS5 and PC . 2024-05-31 . . en-US . May 31, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240531010426/https://blog.playstation.com/2023/05/24/introducing-concord-a-new-pvp-multiplayer-fps-from-firewalk-studios-coming-to-ps5-and-pc/ . live.
  8. Web site: Gach . Ethan . 2024-05-30 . Our First Look At Concord, PlayStation's Guardians Of The Galaxy-Infused Hero Shooter . 2024-05-30 . . en . September 1, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901155040/https://kotaku.com/concord-ps5-firewalk-release-date-trailer-1851510445 . live.
  9. Web site: There's Already Concern Over Concord's Player Count as Open Beta Begins. Robert. Ramsay. Push Square. July 18, 2024. July 30, 2024. July 30, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240730142021/https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/07/theres-already-concern-over-concords-player-count-as-open-beta-begins. live.
  10. Web site: Warren . Tom . 2024-09-03 . Sony is taking Concord offline on September 6th after disastrous launch . 2024-09-04 . The Verge.
  11. News: Blake . Vikki . 2024-09-21 . Concord reportedly cost £300m [$400m] to make amid a culture of 'toxic positivity' ]. 2024-10-04 . Eurogamer.
  12. Web site: Parijat . Shubhankar . Concord Had a Budget of Around $400 Million – Rumour . GamingBolt . 16 November 2024 . September 20, 2024.
  13. Web site: Middler . Jordan . Sony’s Concord reportedly cost $400M to develop . . 16 November 2024 . September 20, 2024 . live.
  14. Web site: Barker . Sammy . August 24, 2024 . Concord Review (PS5) . . August 24, 2024 . August 24, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240824202033/https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps5/concord . live.
  15. Web site: Colantonio . Giovanni . August 23, 2024 . Concord review: Promising PS5 shooter is lost in space for now . . August 24, 2024.
  16. Web site: Middler . Jordan . August 24, 2024 . Review: Concord is a good shooter divorced from the reality of its genre . . August 24, 2024 . August 24, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240824232313/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/review/concord-is-a-good-shooter-divorced-from-the-reality-of-its-genre/ . live.
  17. News: Lane . Rick . 2024-08-27 . Concord review - a hero shooter that nails the shooting, but fumbles the heroes . 2024-08-30 . Eurogamer.net . en . August 30, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240830233455/https://www.eurogamer.net/concord-review . live.
  18. Web site: Smith . Nova . 2024-08-28 . Concord review . 2024-09-04 . pcgamer . en . September 4, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240904025039/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/concord-review/ . live.
  19. Web site: Nelson . Will . 2024-08-24 . Concord can't even reach 1,000 Steam players at launch, and here's why . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240824210703/https://www.pcgamesn.com/concord/steam-launch . 2024-08-24 . 2024-08-27 . . en-US.
  20. Web site: Swan . Cameron . 2024-08-29 . What to Expect from Concord's Post-Launch Support . 2024-08-29 . Game Rant . en . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906020737/https://gamerant.com/concord-post-launch-support-season-new-freegunner-maps-modes/ . live.
  21. Web site: Valentine . Rebekah . 2024-08-30 . Concord Is Estimated to Have Sold Only 25,000 Units. Here's Why Analysts Think It's Failing . 2024-08-31 . IGN . en . August 31, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240831190307/https://www.ign.com/articles/concord-is-estimated-to-have-sold-only-25000-units-heres-why-analysts-think-its-failing . live.
  22. Web site: Dinsdale . Ryan . 2024-09-03 . Concord Is Suddenly Getting Pulled Offline With Sony Promising Full Refunds . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240903161533/https://www.ign.com/articles/playstation-shooter-concord-going-offline-this-week . September 3, 2024 . 2024-09-03 . IGN . en.
  23. News: Carpenter . Lincoln . 2024-09-06 . Streamers captured Concord's final moments as the servers went offline: 'What a huge f***ing honor' . 2024-09-06 . . en.
  24. Web site: Webster . Andrew . 2024-09-04 . Concord was worse than bad — it was forgettable . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240904140012/https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/4/24235163/concord-cancellation-live-service-games . September 4, 2024 . 2024-09-04 . The Verge . en.
  25. Web site: Kim . Matt . 2024-08-29 . Why Concord Failed . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240904145223/https://www.ign.com/articles/concord-victim-long-development-time-playstation . September 4, 2024 . 2024-09-04 . IGN . en.
  26. Web site: Concord Director Steps Down As Studio Behind Historic PlayStation Flop Waits For Sony's Decision . Gach . Ethan . . . September 19, 2024 . September 20, 2024.
  27. News: Warren . Tom . October 29, 2024 . Sony closes Concord studio and permanently shuts down the game . October 29, 2024 . The Verge.
  28. Web site: Zwiezen . Zack . These 9 Live-Service Games Launched And Died In Record Time: #2 - Concord . Kotaku . 13 November 2024 . 5 September 2024.
  29. Web site: Zwiezen . Zack . These 9 Live-Service Games Launched And Died In Record Time: #1 - The Culling 2. Kotaku . 13 November 2024 . 5 September 2024.
  30. Web site: Concord . 2024-11-02 . Museum of Failure . en-US.
  31. Web site: 21 August 2024 . Schedeen . Jesse . Secret Level: Every Video Game In The New Gamescom Trailer . . it's already getting an animated spinoff thanks to Secret Level. . August 25, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240821213356/https://www.ign.com/articles/secret-level-every-video-game-gamescom-trailer-amazon . live.
  32. Web site: Washenko . Anna . 20 August 2024 . Animated video game anthology series Secret Level is coming to Prime Video . 24 August 2024 . . September 1, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901155002/https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/animated-video-game-anthology-series-secret-level-is-coming-to-prime-video-202027254.html . live.
  33. Web site: Bailey . Kat . 2024-09-05 . Concord Will Remain in Prime Video's Secret Level Despite Game's Sudden Cancellation - Source . 2024-09-08 . IGN . en.

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