Concord's Brief Reign: Not the Briefest of All

Concord: A Short-Lived Hero Shooter's Demise

Concord Was Short-Lived, But Not The Shortest-Lived Firewalk Studios' Concord, a 5v5 hero shooter, met an abrupt end just two weeks after its launch. The game's servers went offline on September 6th, 2024, a decision announced by Game Director Ryan Ellis due to the game failing to meet expectations. While some aspects resonated with players, the overall launch fell short of the studio's goals. Digital purchases on Steam, Epic Games Store, and PlayStation Store received automatic refunds; physical copies require contacting the retailer for returns.

Concord Was Short-Lived, But Not The Shortest-Lived The closure is a significant setback considering Sony's acquisition of Firewalk Studios, based on their perceived potential. Ambitious post-launch plans, including a season launch and weekly cutscenes, were drastically curtailed due to poor performance. Only three cutscenes were released before shutdown.

Concord Was Short-Lived, But Not The Shortest-Lived Concord's struggles began early. Despite an eight-year development cycle, it failed to attract a substantial player base, peaking at a mere 697 concurrent players. Analyst Daniel Ahmad points to a lack of differentiation from existing hero shooters, uninspired character designs, and a high price point ($40) as contributing factors. Minimal marketing further hampered its success.

Concord Was Short-Lived, But Not The Shortest-Lived While Firewalk Studios plans to explore future options, the possibility of a Concord revival remains uncertain. The example of Gigantic's successful relaunch after a period of dormancy offers a glimmer of hope. However, simply making Concord free-to-play might not solve its fundamental problems of uninspired character design and gameplay mechanics. A complete overhaul, similar to the transformation of Final Fantasy XIV, might be necessary for a potential comeback. Game8's review scored Concord a 56/100, highlighting its visual appeal contrasted with its lifeless gameplay.