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Why Was A Game Taken Offline Just 2 Weeks After Launch?
Concord, a shooter game that was released on PlayStation 5 and PC only two weeks ago, went offline suddenly having launched on August 23 of this year. The hero shooter was due to be a major new title from Firewalk Studios and publisher Sony looking to horn in on the success of other popular games like Overwatch. But low sales and player disengagement have seen Sony handing out full refunds to everyone who bought the game.
Why Did Concord Go Offline?
Finally, on September 6th of the year long condemned as an agribusiness whipping boy; Sony announced that they had been forced to take Concord completely offline, in a brief statement posted at their Network site. Game director Ryan Ellis said in a statement that they will be “exploring options, including those that will better reach our players,” after community feedback. The move was inspired by the game’s weak numbers — Sub Rosa managed peak concurrent players of only 697 on Steam and sold less than 25,000 copies, well below what Wolfire expected.
Refunds for All Players
Sony has said it will honor full refunds on all purchases. Anyone who purchased the game from the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Direct, Steam, or Epic Games Store will have their digital refunds processed back to those original payment methods automatically. Well, physical refunds are trickier but Sony is currently working the issue out so any refund will be handled directly through retailers.
Reasons Behind the Failure
Player engagement is in the toilet, and true competition between players can rarely be felt. After eight years and a hefty investment from Sony, Concord failed to differentiate itself in the crowded ocean of hero shooters. Free-to-play came with its own set of challenges since those tend to be established and popular big games like Overwatch or Valorant. Some analysts claimed that the game bombed in a most high-profile way, easily among one of the worst performers this side of Warner Bro8ns’ Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League when it comes to sales and player engagement metrics.
A Shift in Sony’s Strategy?
The swift pullback implies a recalibration of Sony’s late-stage approach away from live-service games, which have shown themselves by all means to be maddeningly volatile investments. The company’s president, Hiroki Totoki has already suggested a shift towards not emphasizing the service mode with plans to release only six games- half of what it currently is in development. Sony pulling the plug on Concord just weeks after release only serves to dovetail with this company-wide shift in strategy.
What’s Next for Concord? Potential for a Comeback?
We don’t know what the future holds for Concord – some say this isn’t a permanent end but possibly part of an evolving process. Considering the fact that it failed in the traditional market, Concord may return to F2P if some analysts are correct. Only time will tell for certain though and rather how well any potential transition back sticks against so much competition remains uncertain at best. But until then, Concord’s still down for Sony and Firewalk Studios to determine the next steps with the game.
Brief
Sony’s Move Better Off Reflects Broader Market Realities
The immediate action to shut down Concord demonstrates the fast turnarounds that are so often found in game development, as well as serves as another reminder of how bloody hard it is out there to launch new IP into such a crowded marketplace. There is no certainty as Sony moves on that it will have learned its lessons or change any strategies and game priorities going forward.
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