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Short-lived
Sony’s latest big exclusive, Concord, launched on August 23 and just 11 days later, the publisher announced that the multiplayer shooter is shutting down. Concord sales were cut off on September 3 and servers will go offline on September 6 (two weeks to the day after the game launched in full) as developer Firewalk and Sony explore options and opportunities for the game’s future. Sony is refunding everyone.
Concord had extremely low player numbers on Steam (and presumably PS5 as well) as the game is estimated to have only sold 25,000 copies across all systems as of the end of August. Despite the low player numbers, few could have predicted that Sony would make such a dramatic decision to stop sales, close the servers, and refund everyone after such a short period of time.
But is the Concord situation unprecedented? The launch-to-shutdown timeline for Concord was very quick. In fact, it might be the fastest release-to-shutdown we’ve ever seen from a major studio (though, again, it’s possible Concord could return). But plenty of other games–including high-profile titles based on major IP–have launched and shut down in relatively short order over the years. Let’s look back at other games that have launched and closed unexpectedly quickly, or otherwise been forced to make a major pivot with its business model.
In terms of Concord, the developers say they are assessing their options and looking at how they can “determine the best path forward.” Many are taking this to mean Concord might come back someday, potentially as a free-to-play title. Even if it does, many are wondering what Concord could do to differentiate itself in an already-crowded market for arena shooters. Some believe Concord is doomed and won’t find success, even under a different model.
Whatever the case, some games that launched poorly enjoyed success down the road, so the book may not be shut on Concord. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.
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