PlayStation Shuts Down Concord: A Promising Game Cut Short
All While Reaping the Benefits of Astro Bot's Success
Not gonna lie, when I first saw Concord at PlayStation’s State of Play back in May, I thought, "Ooh, I like how this looks." The cinematic trailer at the start reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos-Montréal. But then the gameplay came on, and I was like, "OH BROTHER," because it was nothing like I expected. I’m sure others knew it was a hero FPS, but I didn’t—especially since all we had was that teaser trailer! That really made me lose interest, but I still gave the beta a try when it dropped.
What’s wild is that Concord got its full reveal just three months ago, and now, it’s shutting down. That’s so sad! I actually kind of enjoyed the beta. The UI/UX felt pretty snappy, and the art direction was nice. Some characters felt a little generic, but I did vibe with a few, like Vale, Bazz, and Kyps.
What really caught my attention was the cutscenes. They were ready to dive deeper into the characters' backgrounds, showing us how they interact, why they’re there, and what missions they might go on. It looked like each season would’ve had a different theme, and I wish we could’ve seen more of that.
Even though I only played the beta for a little bit, the gameplay felt solid—no bugs at all for me, which I guess is what eight years of development gets you. It's unfortunate Concord shut down after all that effort, especially since it started development around the time Overwatch was blowing up.
They had a good strategy, too: no battle pass, 12 maps, six modes at launch, free content with each update, and progression through gameplay instead of microtransactions. They had it all! But I guess the $40 price point turned people off. A lot of folks felt like it should’ve been free-to-play. Plus, people on Twitter kept zooming in on the player count during the beta, after launch on both PlayStation and Steam—and the numbers were low. Concord kept getting compared to other game launches, and it was always at the bottom in terms of sales. It was cool seeing players work together to get the platinum trophy though—it would be the rarest one to earn.
And here we are: September 6th, the day the servers shut down. Firewalk Studios is probably going through a tough time. They didn’t even get a chance to give the game the push it needed. Sony did say everyone who bought the game is eligible for a refund, though. I really hope there aren’t any layoffs at Firewalk Studios, but there might be. I mean, even the Until Dawn remaster developer, Ballistic Moon, announced layoffs, and their game isn’t out yet. So, I can only imagine what’s happening at Firewalk.
It’s crazy because PlayStation has another game coming out called Fairgame$, which seems pretty similar to Concord. It might end up with the same fate, too. No one knows much about the game, and if they showed it at State of Play, most people probably forgot. Apparently, Sony executives are betting on it, which doesn’t make sense to me. It feels like companies need to step back from these live-service games with art styles that don’t stand out. (I do think Concord had its unique qualities though.)
Interestingly, Concord is still part of the "Secret Level" show that was announced during Gamescom, despite the game shutting down. I’ll stay tuned to that because I was really into the world-building and character development. Maybe it’ll change the game’s course. In the meantime, it looks like PlayStation is reevaluating Concord, and who knows, it might come back—just like Gigantic did after five years of being shut down. I hope so, because every game deserves a chance, especially with so much work already done.
What’s also wild is that Concord is shutting down on the same day Astro Bot is releasing. Astro Bot is getting a totally different reception, probably because it’s a single-player game with its own brand. It’s an ode to PlayStation’s history, can be played offline, and is a fun platformer overall. The reviews dropped yesterday, and everyone’s loving it, which makes me happy. It just shows that even though Sony took an L with Concord, they came back strong with a big W.
Let’s see what the future holds for Concord. If you have a physical or digital copy and want a refund, go for it. But if you’re into collectibles, maybe hold onto it! I wish I could’ve grabbed the controller, but it seems like all Concord game sales and merch are put to a halt. And for everyone diving into Astro Bot later—have a great time!