In a surprise move, Sony is pulling the plug on its long-in-development shooter game Concord, just two weeks after its release and after a dismal launch.
Concord, which was released on August 23 for PC and PlayStation 5, will go offline starting September 6, Concord’s game director Ryan Ellis said in a Sony PlayStation blog post. The game was developed over a period of about eight years by Bellevue, Washington-based Firewalk Studios. Sales of the game have been halted and those who purchased the game through services such as PlayStation Store, Steam and Epic Games Store should be able to expect refunds soon.
“…While many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch have not resonated as we intended,” Ellis wrote in the blog post. “As such, at this time we have decided to take the game offline starting September 6, 2024 and explore options, including ones that better reach our players.”
The post does not specify whether this means there are plans to re-release the game at a later date. Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ellis continues: “While we determine the best path forward, sales of Concord will cease immediately and we will begin offering full refunds to all players who purchased the game on PS5 or PC.”
Purchasers of a physical copy of the game are asked to return it to the retailer. Returning the game means players will no longer have access to the title before it is discontinued.
Although Sony and Firewalk have never made the game’s development costs public, some estimates range from $100 million to $200 million, which is the amount Sony has reportedly spent on some of its high-budget first-party games.
When Concord launched, the low player count suggested that the game was selling very poorly in its early days, and players were increasingly having trouble finding matches, a sign that the live service was not being well utilized.
Concord also faced stiff competition in its short lifespan. Not only was the $40 game compared to free-to-play hero shooters like Overwatch 2 and Apex Legends, but it also released on the same day as Black Myth: Wukong and a week before Star Wars: Outlaws.
