Concord falls short of its mission, but Firewalk and Sony promise

Concord, the long-awaited shooter from Firewalk Studios, hit the market with the promise of being one of the highlights of PlayStation's live-service games lineup for 2024. But, like a spaceship running out of fuel in the middle of outer space, the game simply didn't take off. Less than two weeks after its launch, Firewalk made the drastic decision to shut down the servers on September 6, leaving players wondering what the hell went so wrong.

Released on August 23 for PlayStation 5 and PC, Concord was supposed to be the game that would redefine the shooter genre with a unique approach and an innovative proposition. However, what was supposed to be a shining star in the gaming firmament quickly faded. Low sales and player numbers, especially on Steam, put a giant question mark over the game's viability. Sony itself, in its usual silent stance, did not release performance metrics, which only fueled speculation that the game was, in fact, more of a black hole than a supernova.

Sony and Firewalk in the Hot Seat

Firewalk Studiosin a move that mixes humility and necessity, admitted that Concord “didn’t land the way we intended.” In other words, the game was released, but never really found its audience. And now, the studio promises to “explore options” to give Concord the chance to rise from the ashes, or rather, from the void, like a space phoenix. What exactly does that mean? No one knows for sure, but it’s clear that this is an attempt to prevent Concord from joining the graveyard of live-service games that died prematurely.

The Fall of Concord and the Future of Sony's Live-Service Ambitions

Concord’s failure raises serious questions about PlayStation’s live-service strategy. Since the game’s announcement, Sony has positioned it as a key plank for 2024, alongside Helldivers II. However, in recent months, the gaming giant has been backing away from its live-service ambitions, and Concord’s failure only highlights the difficulty of making such games work in today’s competitive market.

It’s impossible not to draw comparisons to other live-service titles that failed before they even got off the ground. Naughty Dog, for example, canceled its live-service project for The Last of Us in late 2023 after facing significant development issues. And who can forget the recent turmoil involving Bungie and Destiny 2? It seems that with each new attempt, Sony stumbles upon a different cosmic rock, showing that dominating the live-service gaming space is harder than it seems.

Unlearned Lessons and Repeated Mistakes

The Concord saga also highlights the difficulty of releasing a game simultaneously on multiple platforms, such as PS5 and PC. While this strategy worked for Helldivers II, Concord’s lukewarm reception, especially on Steam and the Epic Games Store, suggests that releasing a game on multiple fronts is no guarantee of success. Perhaps it’s time for Sony to rethink its approach and consider that the simultaneous release model isn’t a magic formula that applies to all games.

And what about the insistence on betting on the live-service model? It's clear that PlayStation wants a piece of the pie that games like Fortnite and Destiny have been enjoying for years, but the truth is that, without a solid foundation and a proposition that really attracts players, the fate of these games seems to be the same: falling into oblivion. The passion of players for Concord, as mentioned by Ryan Ellis, director of Firewalk, was real. But passion, by itself, is not enough to keep a game alive.

What's Next?

With Concord out of the picture, what can we expect from the future? Firewalk Studios promises to continue working on improvements, but what does that mean in practice? Could Concord resurface with a new look, or will the studio pivot to a completely different project? The answer, for now, lies in space, lost among the stars.

As we wait for more news, one thing is for sure: Sony and Firewalk have a lot to learn from this experience. Perhaps next time, they’ll think twice before rushing a game into the vast and unforgiving space of the gaming market. After all, as Mass Effect taught us, not every space mission ends happily.

Concord’s case is a stark but necessary reminder that not every spaceship is destined to reach the stars. In an increasingly competitive market where gamers have a plethora of options, it takes more than a good idea to capture the attention and loyalty of an audience. It remains to be seen whether Sony and Firewalk can change course and turn this failure into a valuable lesson for the future. Until then, the Freegunners community will have to wait for new developments, hoping that Concord can eventually live up to its name and find a balance between its desire to innovate and its need to win the hearts of gamers.