The multiplayer shooter Concord, developed by Firewalk Studios and launched on August 23, 2024 on PS5 and Windows, has just been suddenly pulled from sale. This decision comes after a disastrous launch. The game will be taken offline on September 6, 2024, marking the end of a short and difficult adventure.
A failed launch and immediate consequences
Concord failed to capture the attention of players as it had hoped. According to Sony, the failed launch and subsequent harsh criticism led to the drastic decision. For players who purchased the game, Sony has message full recovery, thus trying to alleviate the frustration surrounding this project.
Firewalk Studios, for its part, announced through its director Ryan Ellis, explaining the reasons for this sudden withdrawal. In a message posted to the community, he admitted that “some aspects of the game and its initial launch did not land as expected”. As a result, the team chose to temporarily remove the game in “explore the options and determine the best way forward”.
The studio has hinted that solutions are being considered to remedy the situation, although no specific details have been provided at this stage. The future of the game remains uncertain and a complete overhaul is not out of the question.
Disappointing numbers
Upon its launch, the Concord faced a wave of negative reviews. Among the main criticisms are the lack of features and the price, which was considered too high in the face of the often free competition in the field of online multiplayer games. The game’s economic model is a hindrance, especially in a market dominated by free-to-play games like Fortnite or Apex Legends.
Players took control of 16 characters called “Freegunners,” a motley crew of aliens, robots, and space mercenaries. Each had special abilities in 5v5 matches, but despite this diversity in characters, the concept failed to attract crowds.
The low number of online players is particularly worrying. During the launch weekend, fewer than 700 players were logged into Steam at the same time. That figure dropped to just 30 players last Tuesday, preordained the fate of the game since its release, sales were limited to 25,000 copies, far insufficient to justify its survival on the market.
As the studio considers what to do next for Concord, some options are being discussed, including turning the game into a free-to-play title. However, Concord was not designed from the ground up to adopt a “free to play” business model. Therefore, this transition may be difficult to implement and it is not certain that it will be enough to revive interest in the game.
