If you like multiplayer games, you won’t miss the release of Concord. A new license was published by Sony and exclusive to the PS5 and PC, but the game unfortunately made a monumental flop. A few days after its release, the game’s servers officially shut down.
Sony withdrew Concord from sale and refunded players less than two weeks after its launch.
An intergalactic flop for this Sony-exclusive
Few people were expecting it, but Sony had hoped it would be able to create a surprise in the style of Helldivers II. Concord was released on PlayStation 5 and PC on August 23.
As a reminder, this video game hoped to compete with behemoths such as Overwatch or Valorant thanks to a galactic hero-shooter that relied on both its strategic gameplay and its lore, which would continue to develop week after week.
However, despite its many qualities (we gave it a 03/10 in our review), the game was far from the success its developers had hoped for.
In the first few days after its release, things weren’t looking too good for Concord.
Although it certainly had more players on PS5 than on PC, Steam statistics were alarming, revealing that the peak number of simultaneous players had never exceeded 700 – a natural disaster for a multiplayer game. A week later, new data emerged, with it the coup de grâce.
According to IGN, Concord sold only 10,000 copies on Steam, and 15,000 on PlayStation 5. There’s no doubt about it: Concord was a flop like no other.
Concord officially closes its servers and refunds players
But while many critics were pointing out its qualities, and a few gamers were perhaps hoping to discover it one day, Sony has just issued a much more radical statement. It’s official: Concord will close its servers on September 6.
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 6, 2024, 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. If you purchased the game for PlayStation 5 from the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct, a refund will be issued back to your original payment method.
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.
We’ll keep you updated and thank you again to all the Freegunners who have joined us in the Concord galaxy.
* Refunds for PlayStation Store and PlayStation Direct purchases may take 30-60 days to appear on your bank statement. If your original payment source was unavailable, the purchase amount will be refunded to your PSN wallet.
As you can see, Concord is shutting down its servers in just a few days, despite being released less than two weeks ago. If you bought the game and would like your money back, you’ll find the details above.
Sony has not stated that this closure will be definitive, but rather temporary until Concord finds a more suitable solution.
It remains to be seen how long this will take, and whether the solution found will be sufficient to revive interest in the game.
