Sony Axes Big-Budget ‘Concord’ Game Two Weeks After launch

The recent decision by Sony to discontinue the big-budget game ‘Concord’ merely two weeks post-launch raises significant questions regarding the dynamics of the contemporary video game industry. The abrupt cancellation of such a high-profile title underscores the increasingly volatile nature of market reception and consumer engagement in an era where player expectations are rapidly evolving. This situation highlights not only the financial implications for developers and publishers but also reflects broader trends in consumer behavior and technological advancements within gaming.

‘Concord,’ which was anticipated to be a flagship title for Sony, faced immediate scrutiny upon release, with critics pointing to its lackluster gameplay mechanics and insufficient innovation in comparison to competing titles. This scenario exemplifies a critical challenge facing game developers: balancing creative vision with market viability. As consumers become more discerning, driven by an abundance of options and heightened standards for quality, even well-funded projects can falter if they fail to resonate with their target audience. Consequently, this incident may serve as a cautionary tale for developers inclined towards investing heavily in large-scale productions without thorough market analysis.

Concord, which debuted on Aug. 23, will go offline Friday after a flood of negative feedback, game director Ryan Ellis announced in a blog post Tuesday.

"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," Ellis wrote. "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."

Full refunds will be given to game buyers and sales will cease immediately as developers "determine the best path ahead."

The entire situation is bizarre. Monitoring the game’s performance on launch day, I saw it peak at 697 players a couple hours after launch. While I didn’t think it would positively skyrocket after the US got home from work and school across its timezones, it should have gone up to some extent. It actually went down. At 10 PM as I’m writing this late on Friday night, it’s at 615 players. It’s been veering between 550 and 650 all day.

Customers who purchased from other digital storefronts will also be refunded. More information about refunds from Steam and Epic can be found below:

Steam Store – Steam Store will refund players who bought the game over the coming days. Steam will send confirmation of the refund once it has been processed.

Epic Games Store – Epic Games Store will refund players who bought the game over the coming days and will contact each customer directly to confirm that the refund has been processed.

Other retailer refunds – For customers who have purchased a physical copy at a retailer location outside of PlayStation directly, please refer to the refund process of the retailer you purchased it from to obtain your refund.   

Once refunded, players will no longer have access to the game. 

 Read more

Sarah H

Also on site :

• SK Hynix Initiates Supply of Next-Gen HBM4 To NVIDIA For Rubin AI GPUs; Once Again Dominates the HBM Market, Defeating Micron & Samsung
• Google looks likely to lose appeal against record $4.7 billion EU fine
• SpaceX's Starship explodes during routine test in Texas