Well...that was quick. Firewalk Studios Game Director Ryan Ellis published a post on the official PlayStation Blog revealing that team-based FPS Concord will be going offline on Friday. If this seems pretty soon to you, well, that's because it is. Friday marks exactly two weeks since the Overwatch-inspired shooter was released. I don't think a game has ever been pulled this fast, especially a first-party-published one like Concord. The closure will h??appen on both the PS5 and PC servers on Septe??mber 6, 2024.

Maybe not goodbye, maybe see you later?

According to the post, the team has been following feedback since the launch way back on August 23, 2024 and in the 1.5 weeks since have gathered enough feedback to make the decision to take Concord offline. At that time, the fate of Concord will be determined as the team ??explor??es options, "including those that will better reach our players."

Even though it sounds like it may not be the permanent end for Concord, it's hard to imagine it's not. Official numbers for development costs on Concord haven't been released but even with a conservative estimate, there's no way the game is anywhere close to profitable. We're likely talking ten??s of millions in losses, if not more. So it's unlikely Sony will want to throw more money a?t the game to get it in a state where without some sort of miracle it's not likely that it will reach the player numbers required to make it worthwhile.

The good news, however, is that fans who took a chance and purchased Concord will be refunded. Players who purchased on the PS5 via the PlayStation Store of PlayStation Direct will automatically be refunded to their original payment method, while those on Steam or Epic will be refunded over the coming days. Once the refund is completed, the player will no longer have access to playing Concord.

A rough start

Is it really that difficult to understand why Concord is receiving the fate that it is, though? As a PlayStation 5-first title, the console probably has more players than the PC version. However, taking a look at the Steam player count Charts can still give us somewhat of a picture of player numbers, and, well, it's not good. After launching at peak of 660 players, Concord has essentially yo-yo'd bet??ween about 50-150 players concurrently on Steam each day.

If we're being realistic, there's no way that 100 players can justify the server costs with a game that is always online. In fact, even the peak of 660 probably wasn't enough. I never even got the chance to play Concord. I honestly wanted to?, but I thought I had longer than two weeks to give it a shot. But outside of a few loyal players that really seemed to enjoy its gameplay and character design, most early feedback indicated that it wasn't necessarily bad, it just wasn't anything special,?? either.

Maybe we just all need to stop playing live service games. They clearly aren't working out, for the player or for the developer. And it's not for a lack of trying. We've tried, tried, tried, tried, and tried again. What's the definition of insanity? It's not a great time when choosing which game you want to try out is akin to choosing a new Netflix show to watch. It just might be cancele????d before you even finish it.

The post Conc??ord ??servers going offline two weeks after launch appeared first on Destructoid.

Concord is out next week, and Sony has detailed the post-launch roadmap plans for the first two seasons. Sony and develope??r Firewalk Studios have actually confirmed three seasons so far? for the sci-fi hero shooter, all of which bring new content to the game.

The game drops on August 23, 2024, with a slate of maps, modes, and characters. As confirmed, Concord is arriving with 16 playable Freegunners (characters), 12 maps, and six modes. It seems like a hefty chunk of game to experience. Yo??u'll have to wait roughly two months if you want a bit more.

New characters and maps are also arriving in the first two seasons, which will be free. There are no Battle Passes or anything of the sort. The developer stated that it aimed for a "robust experience on day one" for Concord, allowing you to earn while playing.

Concord Seasons begin in October

Concord Season 1: The Tempest begins this October. It'll go live with an in-game store with cosmetics you can buy with your actual, real-life money �if you want. Other than the store??, Season 1 will include:

• New Freegunner
• New map
• New Variants
• Quality of life updates
• New cosmetics and rewards
• New vignettes

Hopefully, that will tide you over until Season 2, because it won't arrive until January 2025. Once it does, you can expect it to bring everyt??hing Season 1 offered exce?pt for a new mode. You'll still be able to try out a new character and a new map, along with more rewards.

Season 3 is confirmed, but it won't go live until April 2025. Details are also scarce, but I'd expect the same smattering of options as detailed above. With a confirmed April launch for Season 3, you can expect new seasons to drop every four months. That's a bit longer than Overwatch 2, which typically runs two-month seasons.

Those who purchase the Concord Digital Deluxe Edition can play the ?game a bit earlier than the rest. It'll go live in Early Access on August 20, starting at 10 a.m. PT. Check out the images above for more times.

The post Concord roadmap showcases t??he first two seasons of content appeared first on Destructoid.

The upcoming FPS hero game Concord went into Open Beta recently, giving you the chance to check it out before it's released. If you're not familiar with it, like a lot of shooters these days, the game allows you to team up with friends for "??thrilling 5v5 PVP modes across the galaxy."

Developed by Firewalk Studios, a division of PlayStation Studios, Concord is scheduled to release proper on August 23. Given its association with the Sony console, it's pretty much going to be a PS5 exclusive, but what other platforms is Concord going to be available on?

Well, we also know it's coming to Steam and Epic Games Store, where you can pre-order it now. In fact, it being cross-play between PC and PlayStation 5 seems to be one of its major selling points. As far as other systems go, it seems as though Xbox or Nintendo won't get a shot here, Concord is available on PC and PS5 only at this time.

Concord on Steam Deck, when? Release date and compatibility

As it's compatible with PC, it's only natural to wonder whether Concord will also work on Valve's mobile ??device, the Steam Deck. If you have one on hand and ar?e playing the Open Beta of the game, I suppose there's no harm in trying it out. You never know.

Well, except that Sony specifically says it won't run on the device. According to the PlayStation support page, the game is "not playable on Steam Deck," adding that this is because "??Windows is required to access PlayStation Network fea?tures." Go figure.

Now, whether there will eventually be a way to make it compatible with the Deck remains to be seen. We are, after all, only in the beta version of the game. Concord has yet to officially launch. However, given what we've been told about accessing the PSN �and that the Steam Deck's operating system is Linux-based rather than Windows �it's unlikely you'll be able to play thi??s one on the go.

The post All available platforms for Sony’s Concord game appeared first on Destructoid.

Developer Firewalk Studios officially wrapped up its Concord Open Beta, celebrating its ?end with a look at the game's content future. The game will get new maps, modes, and playable characters down the line, and it's looking like they won't cost you a single, pretty penny.

Concord won't have a Battle Pass. The team confirmed th??e news today on X in a series of colorful, '70s-esque posts.

"We wanted to focus our attention on making Concord a rewarding and robust experience on day one," the team explained, "where just play??ing the game, leveling up your accounts and characters, and completing jobs yields meaningful rewards." A blast from the past, indeed.

Concord team lays out its plans for future content

The team continues, confirming that all future content coming to Concord will be free. Firewalk has no plans to charge for new maps, Freegunners (the playable characters), modes, and pretty mu?ch everything a growing live-service game needs. As?? for the details on said content, Firewalk will release a roadmap for the game soon.

Concord is launching with a host of content. It will be released in August with 12 maps, six modes, and 16 playable characters (with unlockable Variants). The game will include the gamut of both casual ??and ranked modes, but nothing solo-focused for now. You can, however, play any of the modes as a solo player.

"At launch, we will have six distinct 5v5 team-b?ased modes, which range from more approachable respawn-based modes, like Trophy Hunt, to more competitive ??modes, like Cargo Run �all of which can be queued as a solo player," the team explained. "We will not have solo-specific modes at launch, but our lineup will grow over time through regular updates."

Concord is a hero-based multiplayer shooter and is scheduled to launch on August 23, 2024. It'll be on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam, going for $39.99 ?or $59.99 for the Digita??l Deluxe Edition.

The post Concord will not have a Battle Pass, future maps and characters?? will be free appeared first on Destructoid.

Concord is a team-based hero shooter in which you and a group of other players bat??tle it out with an enemy team using characters from across a vast and intriguing universe. The action is fun and frantic, but it can be stunted when the character information overlay bug crops up.

When picking your hero in Concord, you can view information about them a?nd their abilities and get a good idea of how you should be playing to make the most of everything they have to offer. While this is great, it actually just ends up getting in the way if it sticks around when you jump into a match after picking them. Thankfully, there's a pretty easy way to fix this error when it happens to you that doesn't involve restarting the entire game and the platform you're playing on.

How to fix the character information overlay bug in Concord

To fix the character information overlay bug in Concord, you must press the start/menu button and then return to the match. This should remove the character overlay because it'll force the game to load a new overlay and then close that new overlay upon your return t?o the match.

If this doesn't work, try moving around a bit and waiting until? someone defeats you. The game should reset to the character select screen. Now, you can find the character you want, but make sure you close the character information overlay before being dropped back into the heat of battle.

If that still doesn't wor??k, something must be drastically wrong. The only solution is to close the game completely and start with a fresh launch. This should clear out any caching issues you're experiencing that might be holding that character information overlay up in your game.

What causes the character information overlay bug in Concord?

The character information overlay bug in Concord is caused when a player looks at a character's information in the hero selection screen during a match. It happened to me during the Early Access Beta after I'd been defeated and was looking at the information as I was pl??aced back into the match.

When the bug does occur, you can still move around and fight in the game, but you can't see anything. As you can imagine, this is a pretty big problem and mak??es the game completely unplayable unless you use the quick fix I've outlined above.

The post How to fix the ??char??acter information overlay bug in Concord appeared first on Destructoid.

During Sony's May 30 2024 State of Play, developer Firewalk Studios detailed its upcoming 5v5 PvP-focused FPS called Concord. Originally revealed in 2023, this is the first concrete details we've seen about Concord since. After starting with a nearly 5-minute long cinematic trailer that gave massive Guardians of the Galaxy vibes, we got a roughly 2-minute long gameplay trailer that looked a lot like Overwatch.

Players take on the role of a Freegunner and join their teammates to take on rival Freegunner crews in space heists across six different 5v5 PvP modes that take places on a variety of planets and exotic maps on those planets. There seems to be some pretty interesting variety between the characters, but the genre feels so overdone at this point I can't help but wonder if Concord is a bit late to the party.

Concord is a PlayStation 5 console exclusive but will also launch on PC, though despite the recent Helldivers 2 fiasco, Concord will in fact require a PlayStation Network account to be played on PC. Those in??terested in taking on the role of a Freegunner and jumping into the 5v5 PvP gameplay will have the opportunity to do so when the Early Access beta drops on June 6, 2024, with the full release scheduled for August 23, 2024.

The post Concord is a ??5v5 first-person shooter that feels l??ate to the party appeared first on Destructoid.

A new developer is set to join PlayStation Studios

Sony is? adding another studio the the PlayStation Studios l??ineup. Today, the publisher announced it is acquiring Firewalk Studios.

In 2021, Sony had confirmed it was partnering with both Firewalk and Proba??blyMonsters for its new, original multiplayer game. Today, PlayStation is expanding its partnership by bringing Firewalk under the PlayStation banner.

Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst wrote the following in a PlayStation blog, announcing the move:

"Since announcing our publishing partnership with ProbablyMonsters and Firewalk in 2021, we continue to be impressed by the team’s ambitions to build a modern multiplayer game that connects players in new and innovative ways. The studio shares our passion for creating inspiring worlds grounded in exce??ptional gameplay, and we want to continue to invest in their mission. We’re excited for Firewalk to bring their technical and creative expertise to PlayStation Studios to help grow our live service operations and deliver something truly special for gamers."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvXVA_ZLAWo

Firewalk with Sony

There's not much info to go on, as to what Firewalk is actually working on. The studio was formed in 2018 as part of ProbablyMonsters, and is working on a AAA multiplayer game. It's got some industry veterans behind it, including former Bungie devs Tony Hsu and Ryan Ellis. Via GamesIndustry.biz, this acquisition will see Firewalk separate from ProbablyMonst??ers.

"We’ve assembled some of the most inspired talent in the industry to deliver awe-inspiring new worlds and experiences filled with great core gameplay," Hsu and Ellis said in today's announcement. "The excitement of building something new for players has thoroughly energized the tea??m and our partners, and we’ve been playtesting every day."

This is another live service acquisition for Sony, adding on to its pick-ups of Bungie and Haven Studios.

The post Sony is acquiring Firewalk Studios appeared first on Destructoid.