Recommended Free Tools
Concord failed because it did not reach enough players and did not land with them at launch, and Sony said it missed its targets in the competitive PvP first-person shooter market. Those are the reasons Sony and its studio Firewalk gave in public statements. Neither company has published a full postmortem, so the wider causal chain, including sales figures and internal decisions, remains unexplained by anyone with direct knowledge in the material available.
This article separates what the companies said and what is documented from the explanations that are still interpretation.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Sony Playstation Classic Console with 20 Playstation Games Pre-Installed Holiday Bundle, Includes... | $114.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
NBA BOUNCE - PlayStation 5 | $19.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Riders Republic PlayStation 5 Standard Edition | $25.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Days Gone - Playstation 4 | $28.48 | Buy on Amazon |
What Sony and Firewalk said
Two public statements carry most of the official explanation.
On September 3, 2024, Ryan Ellis, Game Director at Firewalk Studios, announced that sales were stopping and the game would go offline. He wrote: “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.”
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
#1 Best Overall
- PlayStation Classic includes 20 preloaded games
- There are also two wired controllers, a scratch card, and an included HDMI cable.
- A perfect console for fans with a lot of taste and for a new generation wanting to experience the dawn of PlayStation for the first time. Playstation Classic design
- Same famous logo, button layout and outer packaging, but this mini console is approximately 45% smaller than the original PlayStation and includes an HDMI cable to connect directly to a TV.
- The USB AC adapter is not included or sold separately. You can use your own USB AC adapter for smart devices, the required specification is 5V/1.0 amp/5W or higher.
On October 29, 2024, Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group, announced the permanent shutdown and the closure of Firewalk Studios. He wrote: “The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s continuously evolving, and unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title.”
Read together, the statements make three claims. The launch did not go as planned. Some parts of the game were not received as intended, while others did resonate with players. And Sony judged the game a miss against its commercial goals in a crowded genre. None of the statements gives a sales number, a player total for PS5 and PC combined, or a breakdown of which features failed.
Timeline
The sequence below is drawn from dated announcements.
| Date | What happened | Who announced it |
|---|---|---|
| August 23, 2024 | Concord launched worldwide on PS5 and PC as a 5v5, character-driven, first-person multiplayer shooter. | Firewalk Studios (launch announcement) |
| September 3, 2024 | Sales stopped immediately. The game was set to go offline beginning September 6, 2024, and purchasers were offered refunds. | Ryan Ellis, Game Director, Firewalk Studios |
| September 4, 2024 | A Los Angeles Times report citing SteamDB put Concord’s all-time Steam concurrent-player peak at 697. | SteamDB, as reported by the Los Angeles Times |
| October 29, 2024 | Sony decided to permanently sunset the game and close Firewalk Studios. | Hermen Hulst, Sony Interactive Entertainment |
The October 29 announcement is the most recent official statement on the game covered here, and it describes the shutdown as permanent.
Rank #2
- FUN & EASY HOOP PLAY: Players of any age and level can learn the basics and play in style as they shoot, dunk, and block.
- CO-OP ON THE COURTS: Shoot hoops with family and friends and amp up the challenge with up to 4 players.
- PRACTICE YOUR MOVES: Choose your game mode and work on your lay-ups in Training, compete in a Full Season or Party playing Ball Pop and more.
- MASCOT MAYHEM: Jump into the shenanigans with your favorite team mascot in Party Mode.
- BUILD YOUR PERFECT LINEUP: Choose an Eastern or Western Conference team and design your players from the hair to the sneakers and funky trails.
What Concord was designed to be
Firewalk pitched Concord as a team-based character shooter set in science fiction. Players formed crews called “Freegunners” and fought rival crews across maps and game modes. Each character had tactical abilities and persistent round effects, including deployable barriers, traps, domes, and speed-granting spores. The studio also planned weekly cinematic vignettes after launch to develop the characters and the wider game universe.
That was the intended design. It describes what Firewalk set out to build, not how players responded to it.
Why the game struggled, according to the evidence
Launch and player reach
The clearest measurable signal is the Steam player count. According to SteamDB, as reported by the Los Angeles Times on September 4, 2024, Concord’s all-time Steam concurrent-player peak was 697. That figure covers one platform at one peak moment. It does not include PS5 players, sales, or total unique players, so it shows weak attention on Steam, not the game’s overall reach.
Sony’s statement that the game did not reach enough players is the company’s own assessment. The numbers available publicly support the direction of that claim on Steam, but no source gives the full console picture.
Rank #3
- Battle against over 50 players simultaneously in a massive multiplayer playground.
- Compete in an all-out mass start race—collide, grind, and fight your way to the finish
- Customize your character to show off your style to your friends or show up the competition.
- Bike, ski, snowboard, or wingsuit through a seamless open world in Career mode or multiplayer events.
- Go wild on the heights of iconic US national parks like Yosemite, Zion, and Bryce Canyon.
Positioning in a competitive genre
Sony’s statement that the PvP first-person shooter genre is “competitive” and “continuously evolving” places Concord in a category where player habits and expectations are already set. Concord’s character abilities and round-based effects gave it an identity different from many shooters, but the statements do not explain whether players saw that difference as a strength, a barrier, or neither.
Sony’s wider live-service plans
In its FY2023 Q2 earnings Q&A (2023), Sony Group Corporation said it had cut its planned live-service releases by FY2025 from 12 to six. The company said some titles had not met players’ expectations and that quality should take priority over the number of games.
This is useful context for how Sony approached live-service games at the time. It does not show that the plan caused Concord’s results or that Concord was one of the titles it was measuring against.
Was Concord’s gameplay the problem?
The company statements do not isolate a single gameplay flaw. Ellis said many qualities of the experience “resonated with players,” which argues against a simple claim that the game was unplayable or disliked across the board. He also said “other aspects” of the game and the launch did not land as intended, but did not name them.
Rank #4
- Harsh Open World: Using the power of PlayStation 4 and unreal engine 4, days one offers an incredibly realistic and detailed open world experience. But be careful— day and night cycles, all affect gameplay and enemy behavior
- Brutal Sandbox Combat: Perfect your gameplay with an endless combination of strategy and play in every situation. Craft customized items using pieces and parts found in the field, from brutal melee weapons to traps and more
- Compelling Story: At its core, days gone is about survivors and what makes them human: desperation, loss, madness, betrayal, friendship, brotherhood, regret, love and hope. It’s about how hope never dies
- Play as Deacon St.John, a bounty hunter facing a brutal struggle for survival while searching for a reason to live
Our assessment is that gameplay was probably one factor among several, but the public record does not support calling it the main cause. The strongest documented points are reach and positioning, and the statements do not say which gameplay elements were the problem. Treat any specific complaint about the combat, the characters, or the monetization as an interpretation unless it is sourced to Firewalk, Sony, or a dated, named report.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is not established
- Final sales totals or revenue.
- A combined player count across PS5 and PC.
- The development budget.
- The internal reasoning behind pricing, marketing, or launch timing.
- Which specific gameplay or design elements players rejected.
Figures for any of these that circulate online are estimates unless the original publisher is named and the method is given.
Evidence and interpretation
| Explanation | Status | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| The launch did not land as intended | Stated by the developer | Ryan Ellis, September 3, 2024 |
| The game did not reach enough players | Stated by Sony | Hermen Hulst, October 29, 2024 |
| The game missed targets in a competitive PvP shooter genre | Stated by Sony | Hermen Hulst, October 29, 2024 |
| Weak Steam attention | Reported figure, single platform | SteamDB via Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2024 |
| Sony’s live-service plans were reduced in favor of quality | Sony’s stated portfolio decision, not a Concord-specific decision | Sony Group Corporation, FY2023 Q2 Q&A (2023) |
| Gameplay alone caused the failure | Interpretation, not established | No primary source isolates it |
| Retrospective theories about price, marketing, or the market | Interpretation, not established | No primary source supports them as proven causes |
What happened to buyers
Sales stopped on September 3, 2024. Purchasers were offered refunds, and Sony’s shutdown notice explicitly covers refunds for physical retail copies, which are handled through the retailer where they were bought. The online service was taken offline beginning September 6, 2024, and was later permanently sunset. A physical PS5 copy is therefore a release artifact only and does not provide access to online play.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
