Concord is getting the attention it deserves for all the wrong reasons. The gaming community was initially intrigued to see this new ambitious online multiplayer project take flight since it carries the PlayStation brand and the team behind the project are all veterans with years of experience to show for it. Unfortunately, after 8 years of hard work and millions of dollars, the game is removed from all storefronts after an embarrassingly poor reception.
The game had everything a perfect multiplayer project could ask for; however, the gaming community has spoken and the interest wasn’t there nor was the passion. Game development costs a fortune nowadays and the recent report of the insane budget Firewalk Studios had for this project will put every other first-party PlayStation exclusive to shame.
Sony Interactive Entertainment Just Blew 400 Million Dollars on Concord and Have Nothing to Show for It
Sony executives invested a great deal into the development and Concord and it is safe to assume that no one part of the upper management is delighted to see how this all transpired. Game Director Ryan Ellis started the project 8 years ago with a dream of pioneering online multiplayer games and integrating unique story elements that can be tailored throughout months with expansive lore; unfortunately, that dream was snuffed a few weeks after the game went live.
Recent reports claim that Sony Interactive Entertainment entrusted Firewalk Studios with $400 Million to create what they thought was another great PlayStation experience. The writing was already on the wall and the gaming community showed little to no interest in Concord despite being available across the PlayStation 5 and PC platforms, and the player count was beyond abysmal.
“There’s no way Concord cost 400 million dollars!”
bro, the credits are OVER AN HOUR LONG. pic.twitter.com/v5gFOg3rLz
— Dustin Furman (@DustinCanFly) September 20, 2024
Only a rare few players mustered the strength to see the game all the way through when the credits started rolling and timed it to see how long it goes. The credit passed the one-hour mark and kept going, and it is a testament to how much effort and talent was wasted in funneling this doomed project. Sony has placed their chips on the wrong horse and is reeling from the consequences.
The gaming company has made some questionable choices as of late and is deeply invested in penetrating the online multiplayer arena. Bend Studio was given a quarter of a billion dollars which is only a few million dollars short of what Firewalk Studios had to work with to develop a new multiplayer project that has yet to be revealed. After seeing how badly Concord performed a few days since release day, this project could suffer the same fate.
The Failure of Concord Should Be a Wake-up Call for Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment and Firewalk Studios overestimated the game’s chances amidst the fierce competition. Countless video games have been released for the past few years that offer the same experience and not every multiplayer project stands a chance against heavy hitters such as Valorant, Overwatch, Apex Legends, Call of Duty, and Fortnite.
It is time for Sony to realize that online multiplayer games were never the company’s forte and their desperate attempts to keep up with the times always fall flat. The PlayStation platform is renowned for great single-player experiences and there is nothing wrong with sticking with the working formula than overextending the reach for it to snap.
Amazon Prime Video recently announced a new anthology series called Secret Level which features several iconic gaming franchises and somehow Concord will receive a dedicated episode. Some would argue it would be best to scrap the episode to let the game die peacefully and repurpose the work into something worthwhile like the upcoming Indiana Jones video game.
Firewalk Studios bit more than it could chew and its optimism was severely misplaced. Perhaps the game stood a chance if it had been released sooner with fewer online multiplayer games in the market. and this will serve as a lesson to not invest a significant amount of money in something that could fail.
What are your thoughts about the astronomical budget Sony gave Firewalk Studios for Concord? Let us know in the comments section below!
