Sony is Taking Concord Offline, Issuing Refunds After Poor Sales

Sony is putting Concord out of its misery. The online hero-shooter launched last month on PlayStation 5 and PC, but failed to generate player interest, with player numbers on Steam painting a grim picture. Following poor sales and a dwindling player count, the PlayStation parent announced it was taking Concord offline on September 6. All sales of the game will be ceased and players who have purchased the game on PS5 or PC will receive full refunds, Sony confirmed.

Concord to Go Offline

In a PlayStation Blog post Tuesday, Concord developer Firewalk Studios said that the game would go offline on September 6. The studio did not provide an update on the future of the game but said it would “explore options.”

“Concord fans — we've been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC and want to thank everyone who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar. Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game has meant the world to us,” Ryan Ellis, game director at Firewalk Studios, said.

“However, while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn't land the way we'd intended. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players,” he added.

Firewalk confirmed that sales of the game would cease on both PS5 and PC and players who have already bought the game will be provided a full refund. "If you purchased the game for PlayStation 5 from the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct, a refund will be issued back to your original payment method,” Firewalk said.

Purchases made via Steam and Epic Games Store will be refunded in the coming days, with the storefronts sending confirmation to customers once the refund is processed. players will no longer have access to the game after refunds are issued.

Concord was launched on August 23 on PS5 and PC after a period of open beta where player interest in the game seemed minimal. The first-person shooter's all-time peak concurrent player count on Steam stands at a dismal 697 — lower than the peak player count of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, one of the worst reviewed games of 2023. At the time of writing, only 45 users are playing Concord on Steam right now.

Concord is an online hero-shooter with no battle pass system and a $40 price tag. With several free-to-play alternatives, like Overwatch 2, available, Concord had a hard task ahead of itself to convince players to buy the game. An IGN report, citing industry analysts, estimated that Concord sold around 10,000 copies on Steam and around 15,000 on PlayStation Store.