PlayStation is pulling its new live-service game “Concord,”” developed by Firewalk Studios, offline this Friday, just two weeks after its August 23 launch. The decision comes in response to the game’s historically low player engagement and poor sales performance.
“Concord,”” a team-based first-person shooter, was available on PlayStation 5 and PC. However, it struggled to attract players, with third-party gaming data site SteamDB reporting only 30 active players as of Tuesday. The game peaked at just 697 concurrent players, a dismally low figure for a new PlayStation release, placing it near the bottom of PlayStation’s weekly sales charts.
In “Concord,”” players form crews of Freegunner space outlaws from the spacecraft Northstar to engage in online matches between two teams of five. The game has been widely compared to the popular multiplayer shooter “Overwatch.”” However, the small player base made finding matchups increasingly tricky, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
Firewalk Studios’ game director, Ryan Ellis, addressed the situation in a blog post by PlayStation on Tuesday. “Concord fans — we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC and want to thank everyone who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar,” wrote Ellis. “Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game has meant the world to us. However, while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players. While we determine the best path ahead, Concord sales will cease immediately and we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased the game for PS5 or PC.”
According to PlayStation, customers who purchased “Concord” from the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct will receive refunds using their original payment method. Refunds for purchases made through Steam, Epic Games Store, and physical retailers will be processed through those platforms. Once refunded, players will lose access to the game.