Summary
- One Target store still has shelf space dedicated to Concord weeks after the game's shutdown.
- Concord was taken offline on September 6 and everyone who bought it is eligible for an unconditional refund.
- It is currently unclear whether the ill-fated hero shooter will attempt to make a comeback.
At least one Target store still has shelf space dedicated to Concord. This is in spite of the fact that Concord was pulled from retail weeks ago.
Sony subsidiary Firewalk Studios announced plans to shut down Concord on September 3, only 11 days following its release. The game's servers were taken offline three days later. Sony had already instructed distributors to pull the ill-fated hero shooter from their shelves and start issuing refunds by that time.
Concord Fan Puts Refund to Good Use
An avid Concord fan puts his refund to good use and purchases a limited-edition item that ensures the hero shooter's short legacy continues.
Concord Shelf Space Spotted at Target Weeks After the Game's Shutdown
And while retailers have promptly complied with that directive, traces of Concord still linger on weeks later. This was recently observed by Reddit user ACTalks143, who stumbled upon some shelf space dedicated to the game at a Target store. Seeing how there's a realistic chance that Concord will stay dead, it's unlikely that the store is expecting to stock it in the future, especially seeing how any potential comeback would almost certainly require the hero shooter to relaunch as a free-to-play title, which would be an extremely unlikely candidate for a physical release. Instead, it's much more plausible that this particular Target store simply didn't get around to removing its Concord labels just yet.
Store shelves aren't the only places where the name of Firewalk Studios' first and so far only game lives on as of mid-September 2024. Sony itself is still selling Concord merchandise, which can currently be ordered from over two dozen countries via the PlayStation Gear store. The retailer's remaining selection of merchandise includes a branded t-shirt, hoodie, beanie, and mug. Even though the game itself has been shut down, none of the merch is offered at a discount, with prices ranging from $24.95 for the Concord mug to $59.95 for the hoodie.
The chances of Firewalk's hero shooter making a comeback are currently unclear. On one hand, Sony may be keen on trying to salvage the six-plus years of work that went into the game. Then again, the company might also be wary of giving in to the sunk cost fallacy and just decide to cut its losses altogether rather than committing even more resources to reimagining Concord as a free-to-play title.
Either way, Concord's disastrous launch marks a major setback for Sony's efforts to grab a larger chunk of the live-service game market. It's also not the first big challenge that the company has faced on this quest, as underlined by the December 2023 cancellation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer game. PlayStation studios currently have several more live-service titles in development, including Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon.
Concord
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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.
