Sony Takes Concord Offline Just Two Weeks After Release Due to Low Player Numbers

Sony Pulls Hero Shooter "Concord" Offline Just Weeks After Launch

Sony has decided to pull its newly launched online shooter, Concord, from sale just two weeks after its release, following a struggle to attract players. The game, which was exclusively available for PlayStation 5 and PC, launched on August 23rd but will be taken offline starting September 6th. The announcement came from game director Ryan Ellis of Firewalk Studios, the developer behind the title, via a blog post on Sony's website.

Refunds and Future Plans

Ellis assured players that anyone who purchased the game, priced at £40, would receive a full refund. "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," Ellis noted in his statement. The team at Firewalk Studios is taking this time offline to "determine the best path ahead" for the game's potential return.

What is Concord?

Concord is a "hero shooter," a sub-genre of multiplayer shooters where players take on roles as characters with distinct abilities, similar to popular games like Overwatch and Valorant. In Concord, players are part of teams that compete in various modes, such as traditional deathmatches or objective-based games where players control sections of the arena or capture specific targets. Despite being in development for eight years, Concord has been criticized for not offering a fresh take on the genre.

A Lukewarm Reception and Low Player Count

The game received mixed reviews from critics. While some praised the graphics and gameplay mechanics, others criticized it for failing to innovate within the crowded hero shooter genre. This lack of distinctiveness may have contributed to its low player count. According to data from SteamDB, a platform that tracks user activity on PC games, Concord's peak number of concurrent players was only 660. In stark contrast, the most popular games, such as Counter-Strike 2, have consistently recorded over 1 million players since August 2022.

A Challenging Market for Live-Service Games

Concord's failure to gain traction highlights the challenges of breaking into the highly competitive live-service gaming market, where established titles like Minecraft, Roblox, and League of Legends continue to dominate. The live-service model involves regularly updating games with new content to retain player interest, a strategy that can be highly lucrative if successful. However, it is a difficult market to penetrate, even for well-funded developers like Sony and Firewalk Studios.

Earlier this year, Sony saw success with another multiplayer title, Helldivers 2, which sold over 12 million copies on both PlayStation 5 and PC. However, Concord's detailed reveal at Sony's State of Play broadcast in May failed to generate the same level of excitement, with many predicting the game would struggle to find a substantial audience. These predictions have proven accurate, given the game's short-lived run.

Next Steps for Firewalk Studios and Sony

Ryan Ellis emphasized that the team has "been listening closely" to the community's feedback and remains committed to exploring options that will better reach players. The passionate community that formed around Concord, despite its brief availability, has encouraged the developers to find a way forward. "Taking the game offline will allow us to explore options, including those that will better reach our players," Ellis said.

The Road Ahead

While it is uncertain what the future holds for Concord, the decision to take the game offline demonstrates the volatile nature of the live-service gaming market. The rapid rise and fall of games like Concord and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League-which also struggled to attract players despite a high-profile launch earlier this year-highlight how difficult it is for new titles to break into this space.

Sony's approach to Concord's return will be critical, potentially involving a significant overhaul of the game mechanics, marketing strategies, or even a complete relaunch to reignite interest among players. The industry will be watching closely to see if Concord can make a successful comeback or if it will join the growing list of live-service games that failed to capture a lasting audience.