Sony's Big New PS5 And PC Game Concord Got Off To A Slow Start

Sony's latest big PlayStation 5 and PC game, Concord, launched on August 23 after an estimated eight years of development. The game did not, however, appear to put up big numbers at release, despite being generally well-received by fans and critics. [Update: Less than two weeks after launch, Sony has announced that Concord will go offline.]

On Steam, Concord peaked at 697 concurrent users on launch day, August 23, and has fallen off since. PlayStation 5 player numbers are not publicly available, but Tweaktown discovered that Concord ranks at No. 50 right now on the PS5 best-seller charts on the PlayStation Store.

Concord's special-edition DualSense 5 controller remains available for purchase, whereas some of Sony's previous controller releases themed around new games sold out quickly. There could be any number of reasons why one controller sold out and another didn't, however, and the fact that Concord's controller didn't sell out doesn't necessarily speak to the popularity of the game.

On launch day, a number of Sony's other internal PlayStation studios rallied around Concord and released statements praising the game and creating custom art for Concord. Sony's Insomniac (Spider-Man) and Bend (Days Gone) studios played the game live on Twitch to help drum up excitement for it.

Some expected Concord to be a free-to-play title, but it had a premium release, priced at $40. It is a live-service title, with multiple upcoming seasons planned, but--in an unusual move for 2024--does not offer a battle pass or microtransactions at launch

The hero shooter didn't have a long announcement-to-release period, as Concord was announced at the end of May and launched about three months later.

Concord was developed by Firewalk Studios, which is owned by Sony, and it's the developer's first game. It was in development for 8+ years, according to lead designer Joe Weisnewski. "Concord has so much humanity and depth to it. I really hope people give it a shot. Insanely proud of the game and we’re strapped in and ready to push it for years to come," the developer said.

Sony was at one point planning to release 10 live-service games by 2026 but later cut the figure in half as the company outlined a plan to focus on quality over quantity. Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Online, once described as the developer's most ambitious game ever, was canceled

According to a report, one of the last major decisions that former PlayStation boss Jim Ryan made was a mandate for PlayStation's teams to make more games-as-a-service titles. A number of PlayStation developers were said to be upset by this, and the blame apparently fell on industry veteran Connie Booth. A 30-year veteran, Booth left PlayStation in October 2023, and no reason for her departure was ever provided. Some believe she was fired. Booth is now an executive at Electronic Arts.

Looking ahead, Concord Season 1: The Tempest, launches in October--it adds a new character, new map, new variants, and additional cosmetics and rewards. It also introduces a new season of weekly cinematic vignettes that will further flesh out the narrative. Season 2 is scheduled for January, with Season 3 expected in April.