While we’re satisfied with the overall quality of the sci-fi shooter’s gameplay, we pointed out a lack of originality in our 7/10 review . We think this is a totally fine online first-person shooter, but we’re not seeing the innovation that Hulst teased when his company decided to acquire the studio.
Still, a lot of money has been spent on this project, so is it salvageable? We all know it’s hard to shake the stench of failure once it latches on to a title, just ask the likes of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Marvel’s Avengers , both high-profile flops based on much bigger brands. But surely there’s something the developers can do?
What Went Wrong?
Image: Push Square Before we consider potential rescue strategies, it’s important to consider exactly what’s gone wrong for Concord, and that’s a complicated and multifaceted topic. The game appears to have found itself at the centre of several different controversies, all intertwining to create a perfect, formidable storm. Some of these issues can be attributed to the product itself; others are simply out of its hands.
Perhaps chief among them all is that this game has been seen as the symbol of Sony’s live service strategy , a direction for the platform holder which is proving controversial and has largely been rejected by enthusiasts. While Helldivers 2 was also part of this approach, the game largely attracted indifference prior to release, and its explosion in popularity is difficult to ascertain.
Image: Push Square Sony, historically, is no stranger to multiplayer games: there’s a rose-tinted fondness to PS3 era titles like Resistance , Killzone , and MAG these days. But at the time these products weren’t enormously commercially successful, and it’s the narrative titles like Uncharted , God of War , and The Last of Us that would eventually shape Sony’s first-party strategy.
Concord appears to have found itself at the centre of several different controversies, all intertwining to create a perfect, formidable storm
Despite the likes of Fortnite and Call of Duty being far-and-away the most successful titles on PS5 and PS4, many vocal fans aren’t fond of the idea of “forever games”. They want high-quality one-and-done single player experiences, but these are taking longer to make and Sony seems reluctant to announce them early in their development cycle. It’s led to a climate where many feel the only titles Sony are making these days are live service.
This is a marketing blunder, because Concord has been treated like a target for some fans. There’s a sentiment around Push Square must fail in order to send the platform holder a message. If Sony had been a little more subtle about its live service ambitions, and more open about the other types of projects it’s got cooking, the release may have avoided this unfortunate fate.
Image: Push Square Of course, it’s not the only problem, and there is a general fatigue surrounding live service shooters. Overwatch , while still popular, is not the juggernaut it once was – and the market is saturated with similar experiences. Concord may be a good game, but it’s hard to stand out when your competition is Marvel Rivals , featuring household names like Spider-Man and Captain America.
And then there’s the character design: you’re unlikely to find success unless people want to cosplay as your cast. Consider the types of heroes appearing in gacha games like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail : they’re attractive and cool. While Concord does have a couple of good characters, its retro sci-fi colour scheme is garish and its stars are kooky and unusual. Even with some sublime animation injecting them with personality, you’re not going to find any of the characters from Concord on PornHub. And that, whether you like to admit it or not, is a genuine problem.
So What's Next?
Image: Push Square Concord launched with a budget price point of $40/£35, which seems like a reasonable deal for the amount of content on offer. Indeed, there’s been a groundswell of criticism aimed at free-to-play business models for well over a decade in enthusiast circles, so it could be argued Firewalk took the right approach by adopting a premium release.
But the reality is that its competition is all free-to-play. Marvel Rivals will have all its heroes unlocked at launch , and it won’t cost you a penny to play as the Black Panther or Thor. The same is true of Overwatch 2 these days. No matter how good Concord is, it was always going to be a tough ask to get players to cough up the cash for it – especially with its uncertain future.
We suspect Sony will start to break down barriers by giving the game an extended PS Plus Premium
Image: Push Square The problem that the game’s going to find, even if it is free-to-play, is indifference. The title’s open beta only attracted a peak of around 2,000 concurrents on Steam, and that was available for everyone to play for free. Sony could pay streamers to play the game and up its overall marketing spend, but at what point is it throwing good money after bad?
Sony needs live service to bankroll its extortionately expensive single player narratives, but its core audience has utterly rejected the idea
The word of mouth among the title’s small audience is decent, with many eulogising about the actual gameplay. This will certainly help encourage others to try the title, but it may not be enough to pull players away from much bigger and better releases they already love, like Fortnite. This is the challenge that all live service titles face.
The platform holder has to try something , though; it’s clearly invested heavily into this project and free-to-play seems like the best way to go. The game will probably need some fresh energy: a new character, some different outfits – a rebranding of such. Pair these with a free-to-play relaunch, and it could be salvageable to some extent.
Image: Push Square But it’s an uphill battle from this point, and Sony at large seems stuck. The PlayStation maker needs live service to bankroll its extortionately expensive single player narratives, but its core audience has utterly rejected the idea and it needs evangelists to standout in a sector already well-dominated by juggernaut brands.
This is the challenge that new co-CEO Hulst must overcome. The ex-Guerrilla managing director has enjoyed a rapid rise through PlayStation’s hierarchy, but his hardest challenges are still very much ahead of him. He’ll need to earn every cent of his seven figure salary to get his company out of this rut.
Do you think Concord is salvageable and what does Sony need to do to get the series back on track? Is this title a lost cause, or is there a great game here just waiting to find an audience? And what does all this drama mean for Sony’s live service push? Let us know in the comments section below.
Do you think Concord can be saved? (1,499 votes)
Yes, it's a great game and it'll find its audience 10 %Meh, I just don't care either way 34 %No, pull the plug, it's over already 56 %
