Concord goes offline as PlayStation rethinks game’s future

Since Concord officially launched on August 23, there were plenty of reports about how badly it was performing: debuting at fewer than 1,000 players on Steam, and barely cracking the top 50 on the PlayStation charts. We liked the game, but for a multiplayer shooter, those figures seemed grim.

Apparently things were even worse than anyone anticipated, because today Sony announced it would be pulling the game offline beginning September 6:

While many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players.

If you’re one of the (evidently few) people who bought the game, the good news is that you’ll be getting a full refund. If you picked it up digitally — whether on PS5, Steam, or Epic — you’ll be getting a direct refund in the coming days, and if you purchased a physical copy, Sony is telling you to “please refer to the refund process of the retailer you purchased it from to obtain your refund.”

It’s possible the game may return in another form — maybe free-to-play? — at some point down the road, but at present, Concord looks to be one of the biggest flops in gaming history.