Sony Has Officially Shut Down Concord After Two Weeks

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Concord's main issue wasn't that it was a bad game, but rather that it failed to stand out in a crowded market. In contrast, Valve is seeing success with Deadlock in the same genre. Concord is a good game with excellent core mechanics that fell short everywhere else, which was ultimately its undoing along with the limited marketing reach.

Ironically, Concord's shut down comes amidst Sony's most successful month so far in what should've been a "quiet year" off the backs of single-player titles like Black Myth: Wukong and Astro Bot.

Between the success of its non-live-service titles and Concord's immediate collapse, there are calls for Sony to reevaluate its approach although this is highly unlikely.

A better question is to wonder what's next for Firewalk Studios. Sony acquired the Washington-based studio, presumably based on the pedigree of the people within it. After failing to deliver, it's unclear what role the studio will now play in Sony's future. It's possible Sony will put them to work on Haven Studios' Fairgames$ orBungie's Marathon.

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly where Concord went wrong but it does show that Sony might have to be more involved with its live service games going forward.

Both Microsoft and Sony have seen live service blunders in recent years, which might have been mitigated if leadership had been more involved. Perhaps Sony could've pulled the plug on Concord much earlier, similar to what it did with The Last of Us' multiplayer had it had a more hands-on approach.

For now, at least Sony can focus its efforts towards the impending reveal of the PlayStation 5 Pro, which may or may not happen later this month and come with a shockingly steep price point.