The Absolute Chaos of Concord

Concord: Development, Reception, and Shutdown

Development and expectations

• Concord was developed by Firewalk Studios, founded by former Bungie developers, and conceived as a sci-fi hero shooter. Sony signed on to publish it for PlayStation 5 and PC in 2021, then acquired the studio.
• The video places the project within Sony’s push into live-service games. It claims Concord had been in development for years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, while Sony viewed it as a major future franchise.
• Production emphasized cinematic storytelling, including expensive weekly animated cutscenes and extensive lore. The video argues that this focus did little to attract players to a game without a single-player campaign.

Gameplay and reception

Concord launched on August 23, 2024, as a paid 5v5 team-based hero shooter. It included 16 characters, 12 maps, and six modes. The narrator says it ran smoothly and that its core gameplay was decent, comparing its feel to Destiny 2 adapted into a hero shooter.

The video criticizes the game for offering little to distinguish it from established competitors. It describes the maps as repetitive, the presentation as dated, and the character designs and writing as unpopular.

In some modes, players could not reuse a character after winning a round with them—a restriction the narrator presents as frustrating.

Concord cost $40 in a genre where many alternatives were free. Online play also required a PlayStation Network account and subscription. According to the video, the account requirement made the game unavailable in 180 countries.

Launch and shutdown

• The beta reportedly drew around 2,388 players on PC, while the game’s launch peak was only 697.
• The video cites an estimate of about 25,000 copies sold and sharply negative user reviews.
• The narrator attributes the weak launch to limited pre-release awareness, the price, competition from free-to-play shooters, the game’s perceived lack of originality, and its restricted availability.
• Firewalk announced on September 3 that the game would go offline while Sony considered its future, and offered refunds to purchasers. Servers shut down on September 6—just 12 days after launch.
• The video describes the project as an exceptionally costly failure.

Strategies or player tips

No specific gameplay strategies or step-by-step player advice are discussed. The video’s main takeaway concerns product and launch decisions: Concord’s paid model, positioning, and limited reach were poorly matched to a crowded free-to-play market.

Gamers and sources mentioned

No individual gamers are named. The video mentions unnamed paid streamers and YouTubers, and references Sony, PlayStation, Firewalk Studios, Bungie, Overwatch, Overwatch 2, Team Fortress 2, Fortnite, Valorant, Destiny, Halo, Guardians of the Galaxy, Uncharted, The Last of Us, God of War, Spider-Man, Friday the 13th, Blur Studio, Amazon, OpenCritic, Metacritic, Eurogamer, and NordVPN.