Concord: A Failed Venture
One year after its release, Concord is remembered as one of the biggest failures in recent PlayStation history. The shooter from Firewalk Studios was launched on PlayStation 5 and PC on August 23, 2024, but was removed from digital stores in less than two weeks, with servers shut down and all buyers refunded. Sales fell far below expectations, with estimates suggesting less than 25,000 copies sold and a maximum of around 700 concurrent players on Steam.
The Downfall of a Promising Project
The project had been in production for about eight years and was a significant investment for Sony, which acquired Firewalk Studios in 2023 to strengthen its focus on games as a service. However, the game could not withstand the negative impact and quickly became an example of the risks associated with these strategies. A few months later, in October 2024, Sony announced the definitive closure of the studio and confirmed that there were no plans for a relaunch.
Former Firewalk creators shared some explanations on the A Life Well Wasted podcast about what went wrong. According to them, the public had already written the game’s fate before its release, largely due to communication and marketing errors. Despite the studio’s enthusiasm, the beta version did not attract enough players and media coverage began to focus on low numbers rather than the game’s content itself.
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