Summary
- Following the shutdown of Concord's servers, the game is seemingly being removed from people's PlayStation libraries.
- Although players were warned that the game would no longer be sold days before it was delisted, Sony never announced that it would be removing the title from people's consoles entirely.
- Even delisted games like P.T. Remained playable after being delisted for those who kept the game on their console.
The short-lived 5v5 hero shooter Concord is reportedly disappearing from people's PlayStation accounts after Sony shut down the game's servers and delisted it from sale in early September. While the shutdown of Concord was announced several days in advance, Sony never explicitly mentioned any plans to outright remove the game from players' accounts.
Concord failed to find much of an audience at launch, not even reaching a concurrent player count of 700 on Steam when it launched on August 23. The title was shut down just two weeks later, on September 6, with the dev team announcing that it would be exploring options and deciding how best to proceed. The game was meant to be Sony's answer to the hero shooter trend, launching as a PS5 console exclusive. Unfortunately, it failed to make an impact, with many citing its $40 price tag in an already saturated market as a likely reason for its lackluster reception.
What Could Concord Have Done Differently To Succeed?
Though its visual design and characterizations were apparently quite liked by the few who played Concord, the game failed to take off in the way Sony expected, and the game is set to be shut down on September 6, 2024. For all its flaws, the main one that may have changed things was if it became Free-To-Play. There are just too many competitors in its Hero-Based Shooter genre that are F2P for it to be worth players spending their money on one that doesn't seem to do much different gameplay-wise.
While Concord has now been unplayable for several days, a report from Kotaku seems to confirm that the game is also being pulled from players' libraries completely, making it impossible to launch. This means those who own the game can no longer access the main menu or view any of its content, as Sony is effectively erasing the game from existence.
Concord Disappears from PlayStation Accounts
This is an unprecedented move, as even past delisted games like the Silent Hills teaser P.T. Remained playable after being delisted for those who kept it on their console's drive. While players had a bit of a chance to earn trophies and try the game out for a few days before it was taken down, Sony's decision to completely remove the title from players' consoles without prior warning is something that isn't sitting well with some in the gaming community.
Fortunately, Sony offered refunds for those who purchased the game at launch, so the removal may not prove to be a huge loss for many players, especially since the game is unplayable. Some players have pointed out issues with the refund process for Concord, though retailers are reportedly working to resolve these as soon as possible.
For now, it seems unlikely that Concord will make a significant comeback as PlayStation pivots toward its upcoming mid-generation refresh with the PlayStation 5 Pro and the runaway success of Astro Bot. However, the game is reportedly still set to appear in the upcoming Amazon series Secret Level, which will seemingly adapt part of the storyline from Concord as a short-form television episode, though it remains to be seen if the episode will actually be aired.
Concord
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 64 /100 Critics Rec: 23%
- Released
- August 23, 2024
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Firewalk Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
Assemble your crew of Freegunner space outlaws and team up online with friends for thrilling 5v5 PVP modes across the galaxy in Concord.
Concord is a new team-based first-person shooter for PS5® and PC*. Handpick your personal roster of Freegunners from the crew of the Northstar – a group of outlaws and adventurers working as guns-for-hire.
ASSEMBLE YOUR CREW
From powerful mystics to skilled gunslingers and helpful healers, each Freegunner brings their own unique skills, personality, and abilities that cater to a wide-range of playstyles.
Create your own custom squads of Freegunners with Crew Builder to bring an arsenal of different role types to the match or focus on your favourite characters to master their gameplay and unlock unique modifiers, cosmetics, background lore, and more – you decide when to play your characters and how you impact the match.
PLAY. PROGRESS. PERSONALIZE.
Earn and unlock a wide range of character customization items and learn more about the characters, worlds, and factions in the Concord Galaxy with the Galactic Guide.
You’ll also be able to progress toward and unlock Freegunner Variants—versions of each of the 16 Freegunners with added Combat Trait modifiers to their base abilities. As you learn and master the characters, Combat Traits empower you to tailor each character to your playstyle.
