By Resolving what has been an embarrassing launch, Sony has announced it take its new live service multiplayer shooter game “Concord” offline after just two weeks.
In addition, the company will pull the game from sale and offer refunds to all players who bought it. The announcement was made in a PlayStation Blog post by Washington-based Firewalk Studios game director Ryan Ellis.
The news follows on from reports that the title sold as few as 25,000 copies across both PS5 and PC since its release on August 23rd. In a statement, Ellis says:
“Concord fans – we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC and want to thank everyone who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar.
Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game has meant the world to us.
However, 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 6th and explore options, including those that will better reach our players.
While we determine the best path ahead, Concord sales will cease immediately and we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased the game for PS5 or PC.”
Once refunded, players will no longer have access to the game. Firewalk was founded in 2018 and was acquired by Sony last year, with “Concord” reportedly in development for around eight years. Reviews were mixed with a 62/100 on PS5 and 65/100 on PC.
The news marks another setback for PlayStation’s live service ambitions. PlayStation built its name on AAA single-player titles but oddly opted to shift to a multiplayer strategy a few years ago.
Then last year came the news it was essentially shifting back – halving the number of live service games it planned to release, and scrapping high-profile ones like “The Last of Us Online”.
PlayStation had a rare new live service game success earlier this year with “Helldivers 2,” however the buzz around the game has quietened down recently and numbers are dropping off as live service players return to old familiar titles.
The post Sony Takes “Concord” Offline, Refunds Issued appeared first on Dark Horizons.
