Sony has announced that the new PlayStation 5 shooter Concord, which launched on August 23, will be discontinued after just two weeks, with refunds being issued to all players who purchased it.
The game is a team-based hero shooter in the vein of Activision-Blizzard’s hit Overwatch, which pits teams of five against each other in closed combat arenas, and has been one of the year’s most notable flops since launch. It has registered player counts of just a few hundred on Steam, the most popular PC store, and is estimated to have sold fewer than 25,000 copies, according to the company. GameDiscoverCo analysts.
“Concord fans, we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since Concord launched on PlayStation 5 and PC… Your support and the passionate community that’s grown around the game have meant a lot to us,” Sony’s statement on the PlayStation blog reads. “However, while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch were not as successful as we had hoped. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to stop offering the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that best resonate with our players. While we determine the best path forward, sales of Concord will cease immediately and we will begin offering a full refund to all players who have purchased the game on PS5 or PC.”
This isn’t the first high-profile multiplayer game that has failed to live up to expectations this year. Warner Bros Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League It also failed to catch on with gamers. In contrast, team-based shooter Helldivers II has been a huge hit for Sony since its launch in February, selling more than 12 million copies in its first three months.
It’s rare, however, for a struggling multiplayer game to be pulled from sale so quickly. Other failed games, such as Evolve, Lawbreakers and Paragon, have typically lasted about a year. Concord’s future is unclear: the statement doesn’t indicate whether the game is being cancelled for good or if it will return at some point.
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Concord was reported to be in development for eight yearswith an estimated cost of more than $100 million. Sony bought its maker Firewalk Studios in 2023 for an undisclosed sum. It was one of several acquisitions of live service game developers in recent years as the PlayStation 5 platform owner bet big on long-tail multiplayer games.