Sony has announced that it will remove the online shooter Concord from sale just two weeks after its release. The multiplayer game launched exclusively for PlayStation 5 and PC on August 23 and has struggled to attract players.
In a blog post on Sony’s website, Ryan Ellis, game director at Firewalk Studios, revealed that the game will go offline starting September 6.
Ellis mentioned that anyone who purchased the £40 game will receive a full refund while the team evaluates the best way to proceed. He also expressed the team’s unwavering commitment and hope for the game’s future, instilling a sense of anticipation in the audience.
Concord is a hero shooter, a subgenre of multiplayer games similar to popular titles like Overwatch and Valorant. In hero shooters, players join teams of characters with unique abilities.
They can engage in various modes, including straightforward deathmatches or objectives that involve capturing points or controlling areas of the arena.
Concord, a game that had been developing for eight years, was Sony’s latest attempt to capture the multiplayer market. It aimed to make a mark in the multiplayer gaming landscape with its unique features.
While it received mixed reviews from critics who praised its graphics and solid gameplay but criticized it for not bringing anything new to the genre—it was a game with great potential and uniqueness.
The game received mixed reviews from critics, who commended its graphics and solid gameplay but criticized it for not bringing a fresh perspective to the genre. According to SteamDB, which monitors player counts on the PC platform, Concord’s peak concurrent users was 660. In contrast, Counter-Strike 2, the most-played game, has consistently boasted over 1 million players since August 2022.
In his message, Ryan Ellis stated that Firewalk had “listened closely” to player feedback. “While many aspects of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that some elements of the game and our initial launch did not meet our expectations,” he said.
Ellis expressed gratitude to the players and mentioned that the team is exploring options for the game’s potential return, including potential updates and improvements based on player feedback.
Multiplayer or “live-service” games, which receive regular updates to maintain player engagement, are highly lucrative for companies, and Sony has been heavily investing in them.
While Concord may not have met our expectations, it has provided us with valuable insights that we will use to enhance our future gaming experiences.
The live-service market is notoriously difficult to penetrate, with US analytics firm Newzoo regularly showing that long-established titles like Minecraft, Roblox, and League of Legends dominate the charts. Despite these challenges, the team remains determined and committed to the game’s future.
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