Sony’s new team shooter Concord is not going to be playable for much longer, as Developer Firewalk Studios announced they will be taking the game offline on September 6, just two weeks after its release, to explore options that will better reach their players. Digital purchases of Concord have been discontinued and Sony will be offering refunds to those who bought the $40 game on PlayStation 5, Steam, and the Epic Games Store, while physical copies can be returned for a refund. Game director Ryan Ellis acknowledged that while certain aspects of the game resonated with players, other elements did not land as intended in a statement on the PlayStation Blog. Despite Sony not disclosing sales figures, indications suggest that Concord was a flop with less than 700 concurrent players on Steam post-launch, leading to estimates of only 25,000 copies sold in the first six days, making it unsustainable as a live-service game. This move to pull the game offline so soon after debut is rare for a major publisher, with previous examples like Amazon’s Crucible being mentioned. Reasons for Concord’s lack of success range from mediocre gameplay, unengaging characters, and competition from other popular team shooters. Firewalk Studios, acquired by Sony last year, may consider retooling Concord as a free-to-play game, but for now, this stands as a major failure for Sony.
