PlayStation to Shut Down Concord Two Weeks After Its Release

In a surprising yet reasonable turn of events, Firewalk Studios' Director Ryan Ellis has issued an official statement announcing that Concord, a first-person shooter widely regarded as the gaming industry's biggest flop this year, will be shut down on September 6, just two weeks after its official release.

In his announcement, Ellis acknowledged that Concord's launch did not go as Sony and Firewalk had planned, with some aspects of the game turning out differently than envisioned. According to the Director, taking the game offline would allow the team to "explore options, including those that will better reach our players."

Following the announcement, sales of Concord were immediately halted for both PC and PlayStation 5, with the developers now offering full refunds to those who purchased the game on Steam, EGS, the PlayStation Store, or PlayStation Direct. Once refunded, players will lose access to the game, which is set to become completely unavailable this Friday.

Despite Concord's lifespan being shorter than that of a housefly, the game still became an online sensation, but unfortunately for its developers, for all the wrong reasons. Even before release, the community heavily criticized the title for its generic, safe, and bland art style, hoary gameplay, boring level design, lack of fresh, original ideas, and, of course, the game's $40 price tag.

Shortly after its launch, Concord also stole the headlines when it was revealed that only around 25,000 copies had been sold, netting the developers less than $1 million – a drop in the bucket compared to its development costs, estimated between $50-200 million.

With that in mind, it's important to note that many players were most likely deterred not by the game's visual style, but by its steep price tag – especially considering that most other hero shooters, like Overwatch, Paladins, Valorant, and others, are free-to-play. Considering Ellis' remarks about exploring options to reach more players, it seems at the very least plausible that Concord could make a triumphant comeback as a F2P title in the future and finally reach that elusive milestone of 1,000 concurrent players.

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