Concord might never get a comeback (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The game director behind Concord has reportedly stepped down from his position, as staff fear layoffs at developer Firewalk Studios.
Concord is one of the biggest flops in PlayStation history, lasting only two weeks before it was pulled by Sony due to its low player numbers.
The shut down led to refunds for all players, but it was unclear whether the hero shooter would return in another capacity. In a blog post announcing the game’s removal from stores, the team said it will ‘explore options’ for Concord’s future, ‘including those that will better reach our players’.
A new report, however, suggests Sony might other plans for Firewalk Studios, with some on the team doubtful about whether the shooter will ever return.
According to Kotaku, Concord game director Ryan Ellis, who previously worked at Bungie as creative director on Destiny 2, told staff at Firewalk Studios last week that he would be stepping down from the role and moving into a support position instead.
When will Concord return?
‘Ryan deeply believed in that project and bringing players together through the joy in it,’ one former unnamed developer at Firewalk Studios told Kotaku. ‘Regardless of there being things that could have been done differently throughout development… he’s a good human, and full of heart.’
While Concord’s future is said to be still up in the air, three sources are apparently ‘pessimistic’ about its chances. It’s claimed some on the team have been asked to explore pitches for ‘something completely different’ for the developer’s next game, while some staff have speculated Firewalk could be used as a support studio on Sony’s first party projects moving forward.
According to the report, there’s also concerns of mass layoffs at the studio, with some having already preemptively exited. Sony cut 900 jobs across its PlayStation division earlier this year, one of the biggest single cuts at any publisher.
Although it’s currently unclear whether or not Concord will be relaunched, possibly in a free-to-play capacity, the IP will live on through an episode of upcoming Amazon TV show Secret Level, which is set to air on December 10, 2024.
The big question is whether Concord’s failure will impact Sony’s future live service plans. The company has various other online multiplayer games in development, including Bungie’s Marathon and heist-themed shooter Fairgame$ from Haven Studios.
Just this week, rumours suggested that Marathon will be sold at $40, implying that Sony is not changing course as a result of Concord’s failure.
Sony has previously said it has 12 live service games planned before 2026, which included Concord at the time, but that it was reviewing them to ensure they would ‘be played and liked for a long time’.
While it’s unlikely that Marathon and Fairgame$ will be cancelled in light of Concord’s demise, it remains to be seen how many of these unannounced multiplayer projects will actually see the light of day.
Concord only lasted two weeks (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
MORE : New 30th Anniversary PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles are very grey and boring – and that’s great
MORE : Spider-Man developer Insomniac hiring for new open world PS5 game
MORE : Astro Bot outsells Concord in two days but UK physical sales ‘aren’t huge’
Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they’re seen on the site.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.