The End for the ‘Blockbuster’ Aiming to Dethrone VALORANT and Overwatch, Even Black Myth: Wukong.
Almost 2 months ago, Firewalk Studios and Sony announced a blockbuster fps title that they claimed had been researched and developed for 8 years, named Concord. With the promotional push from Firewalk Studios and Sony, players worldwide were eagerly anticipating a truly grand title, one that could join the ranks of renowned fps games and even dethrone some old names like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, VALORANT, or even Black Myth: Wukong. However, all that followed was disappointment.
Upon its launch, Concord received an alarmingly low player count, failing to surpass 1000 players on Steam on its debut day. Even during the testing phase, the game only attracted about 2k players, gradually declining each day. At that time, one could attribute this to the simultaneous launch of Black Myth: Wukong. However, Sony, who was very confident about this game, should have ensured that it produced a title good enough to defeat all competitors.
The poster design already shows a certain resemblance to VALORANT
However, Firewalk Studios had intended to create more seasons and planned for development until 2025. The only issue is that all of this was just a plan. Recently, PlayStation and Firewalk Studios announced that Concord would be shutting down on September 6, including all associated activities and mechanisms. Additionally, the company will refund all players who purchased the game for PS5 or PC. If players bought the game for PS5 from the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct, the refund will be returned to the original payment method.
What Caused the ‘Short-Lived Blockbuster’?
According to the gaming community, even before its launch, Concord was deemed to lack appeal due to its confusing character designs. Moreover, the game’s publisher representatives had direct conflicts with the gaming community when receiving feedback. Failing to satisfy their players, coupled with strong competition at the same time (like Black Myth: Wukong) performing exceptionally well, made Concord’s failure understandable.
According to statistics, before the announcement of the complete shutdown of the game, Concord had sold only about 25,000 copies. This is a dismal figure for a game, especially when there were over 37 million concurrent players on Steam for Black Myth: Wukong. Just the remaining number could already far exceed Sony’s “8-year in the making” game.