Concord's open beta begins today (that's the 18th July) on PS5 and PC, welcoming anyone and everyone into the hero-shooter fray. But this celebratory moment is in danger of being overshadowed by talk of the game's player count. Indeed, the previous early access beta — which ran from the 12th July to the 14th July — reportedly struggled to attract a PC audience. User numbers on Steam (as per SteamDB) didn't paint a pretty picture, with the beta pulling just over 1,100 players at its peak.
As you can imagine, a lot of doom and gloom has spawned from such a realisation — and many are already wondering whether Concord's going to be dead on arrival once the full game drops on the 23rd August.
However, while there's no denying that the Steam numbers are somewhat concerning, we do think detractors are jumping the gun. After all, we don't know how well the early access beta performed on PS5 — and there's the simple fact that getting into said beta required a pre-order on the platform of your choice.
Given how divisive Concord's State of Play reveal turned out to be, we can't imagine that hordes of potential buyers went out and immediately pre-ordered. As such, this open beta should be a much better indicator of the title's eventual popularity. All eyes will be on that player count over the next few days, then.
Still, there was always going to be some discussion over Concord's $40 price tag — which could end up being a key factor in terms of the game's overall success. Even if it turns out to be the greatest PvP shooter the world's ever seen, it's going up against a slew of eternally popular, free-to-play titles that offer incredibly similar gameplay experiences.