Every video game has a lifespan. Some, like Pac-Man, are played for decades. Some support a small, but dedicated, player base for a few years before quietly disappearing. Concord, an online multiplayer video game recently released by Sony, lasted less than two weeks before its publisher decided enough was enough.
Sales of the action game have been halted “immediately,” Sony announced in a blog post, and the company will offer full refunds to people who have purchased the title for either the PlayStation 5 or for PC via Steam or the Epic Games Store. Current owners have until September 6 before the servers are shut down. Analysts have estimated that the game sold just 25,000 copies.
It’s an ignominious finish for a title that stumbled hard out of the gate—and it’s certainly a candidate for the shortest life cycle of any major video game release. (Even EA’s much-maligned Anthem lasted two years before the publisher pulled the plug.)
What happened?
This history of Concord is an unusual one, even in the often-turbulent video game industry. The game spent eight years in development, a phenomenally long time for any title. (Three years is a more typical length from concept to release.) During much of that time, developer Firewalk Studios (and its team of 150) was a part of the ProbablyMonsters family of studios. Last April, however, Sony acquired Firewalk for an undisclosed price.
Sony hasn’t disclosed how much was spent on the development of Concord, but in 2022, ProbablyMonsters closed a $250 million fundraising round—and the company has not had any other releases beyond Concord.
The game didn’t get the big marketing push that some other major titles might see, though it was hardly ignored. Early reviews were underwhelming, though, saying the game had impressive visuals and mechanics, but didn’t offer players anything they hadn’t seen before. Being labeled “generic” by critics and players dampened any enthusiasm that might have been brewing. (Concord currently has a Metacritic score of just 62 out of 100.)
