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Successful live-service games generate lucrative and recurring revenue streams, courtesy of microtransactions and battle pass sales. Blizzard Entertainment set the standard in many respects considering the way it supported the original Overwatch, which accrued an astounding $1 billion in revenue and 30 million registered users in its first year of availability. Game publishers across the industry quickly jumped at the chance to get a piece of the pie, some pursuing the service trend to great success while others crashed and burned. The gold rush has long held merit given the number of console players who devote playtime to such experiences on a monthly basis. And as a console manufacturer, Sony may have felt doubly incentivized to dip its toes in the same water.

After becoming a dominant force in the single-player games space throughout the PlayStation 4 era, Sony Interactive Entertainment started investing more into multiplayer endeavors around the launch of the PS5. It notably took an interest in Concord, a hero shooter spooled up under the watchful eye of industry veterans who'd previously worked at Activision, Bungie, and BioWare. However, not even this level of expertise could guarantee success.

Concord developer Firewalk Studios built a solid foundation in terms of gameplay, yet critics and players balked at the visual design choices and the boldness of the game's premium price tag. In a world where Overwatch 2 launched as a free-to-play experience to an already established fanbase, the likes of the Firewalk endeavor could only afford so many missteps. After all, multiplayer audiences have a finite amount of time and money, commodities that needn't be wasted on experiences incapable of attracting and maintaining their attention. Concord failed on both counts and then some, which its creators paid for dearly.

This is the tragedy of Concord.

 

[Dacvak]

This'll be an interesting watch. I really hope companies take Concord as a cautionary tale and executives stop demanding live service game development from their studios.

 

[Punished Miku]

The worst thing they did was just shut it off. Could literally still drop it on PS+ if they wanted and let people play it. Some people bought physical copies and controllers. Just an absurd reaction honestly.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

I still can't believe they spent $400m on this. What an absolute waste of money.

Edit: Just to be really clear and to stop and onslaught of people telling me that they didn't spend that much money on this project, I have no idea how much money was spent (I based it off of what was said before) and to be honest it doesn't matter. The game made absolutely no money, so any money spent was a massive fucking waste.

 

[winjer]

Somehow, it's still funny.

 

[Alebrije]

Will wait for the Marathon disaster, way bigger than Concord.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I hope that others fail to learn the lessons or Concord. That was some of the best entertainment I've ever seen in the history of video games.

Sony, give us Concord 2!

 

[Cakeboxer]

The worst thing they did was just shut it off. Could literally still drop it on PS+ if they wanted and let people play it. Some people bought physical copies and controllers. Just an absurd reaction honestly.

Would still cost a lot of money to maintain it.

 

[Kacho]

The worst thing they did was just shut it off. Could literally still drop it on PS+ if they wanted and let people play it. Some people bought physical copies and controllers. Just an absurd reaction honestly.

GAAS have ongoing costs to keep running. They gotta pay teams to maintain it, servers, etc. So even if "free" they would be need a certain amount of players and mtx spend for it to be sustainable, let alone recoup $400 million.

 

[Punished Miku]

Would still cost a lot of money to maintain it.

I think Sony could manage. Sometimes these games grow a bit over time. They didn't even try. Just weird.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Documentaries like these are easily more entertaining than anything Sony puts out these days. At least Concord was good for something, right?

 

[MiguelItUp]

It's still so wild how empty the public tests were. But after my first and only game I totally understood why. To me, it just delivered nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing really unique. Just more of what's already out there but with a "different" wrapper. Well, and a "wrapper" that had a universe and art style that a lot of people didn't care for. It wasn't a BAD game per se, what it did was serviceable. But people want more than that. They want reasons to go back to play it every chance they can, and those reasons weren't there.

For someone to love FPSs as much as I always have and still do, I think it says quite a lot. There was just absolutely no hook. The saddest part to me about all of this is how much this echoes the consensus of Marathon. The only differences are the changes in game type and some mechanics, along with it being tied to Bungie. But other than that, alot of the same issues still remain. The Bungie attachment alone could help that project more than Concord, but it's really hard to think it's going to have a drastic change considering the topics revolving around it.

 

[Sgt.Asher]

We need James "ITS NOT 400 MILLION" sawyer

I played the beta and found it awful, shooting was fine(recoil and aim) but everything around it was awful. They wanted a team game but couldn't figure out how to encourage team play besides giving guns that pea shooter feeling.

 

[Nydius]

We need James "ITS NOT 400 MILLION" sawyer

Beat me to it. This was immediately what I thought when I saw the thread title.

Need James to come back with his full throated defense of why all these numbers are "wrong" because he says so.

The worst thing they did was just shut it off. Could literally still drop it on PS+ if they wanted and let people play it. Some people bought physical copies and controllers. Just an absurd reaction honestly.

The likelihood that people would have bothered playing it is minuscule. Certainly not worth the cost of maintaining the servers or even a skeleton crew to keep them going. Without some kind of monetization plan in place, keeping it going would have been the epitome of the adage "throwing good money after bad".

Shutting it down was the only financially reasonable thing to do.

 

[adamsapple]

We need James "ITS NOT 400 MILLION" sawyer

 

[Plague Doctor]

Remember that the former disaster champ, ET the game, actually sold millions of copies. (2.5 million copies roughly)

Concord lived and died for 12 days after 8 years in development factoring in pre development and only selling less than 100k copies. (I think some had it even less than 50k copies)

When people want to say Concord isn't worse of a financial disaster than ET, kindly remind them ET sold way more than Concord ever did and had a far shorter development time and far less investment cost.

 

[Cakeboxer]

I think Sony could manage. Sometimes these games grow a bit over time. They didn't even try. Just weird.

The reception was too poor, Sony didn't want to risc losing even more money. Sometimes it's better to pull the plug.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

400 Million?

 

[deeptech]

I hate this thing so much, so much. How the hell do you invest such money into something like THAT!!!??? Do they have at least one person there employed who actually follows video games, loves them, plays them?
Making this game and spending so much was a hell of a risk compared to even making a totally new type of game never done before, they should have contacted Kojima for tips for fuck sake.

 

[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

Meh. The ones that i feel are impactful, are the ones that humiliate the dev/publisher. Stuff made by Crowbcat or internet historian. All this politely told information for the masses is not what these "games" deserve.

 

[SILKYSMOOTH30FPS]

I hate this thing so much, so much. How the hell do you invest such money into something like THAT!!!??? Do they have at least one person there employed who actually follows video games, loves them, plays them?
Making this game and spending so much was a hell of a risk compared to even making a totally new type of game never done before, they should have contacted Kojima for tips for fuck sake.

These fuckers are completely disconnected from what people want. Ever since Jimbo and Herman became in charge, Sony has completely lost it.

 

[Kacho]

Meh. The ones that i feel are impactful, are the ones that humiliate the dev/publisher. Stuff made by Crowbcat or internet historian. All this politely told information for the masses is not what these "games" deserve.

It's like the MattMcMuscles "what happen" video on the Saints Row reboot. Said some total softball bullshit like "Some people didn't like the direction the game went." Yeah "some people" dude, while the game flopped so hard it killed the studio lol

 

[Hookshot]

It was more than that.

 

[Rush2112]

Overwatch with bad art.

 

[adamsapple]

400 Million?

I can still hear his voice on the wind.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I think Sony could manage. Sometimes these games grow a bit over time. They didn't even try. Just weird.

Even during the free open beta it hit a max of just 2000-something concurrent players on Steam and dropped off rapidly. Free or not, nobody wanted this game. I don't know if there's anything they could've done to make people play it.

It'd be like Suicide Squad where they'd release some update and a whopping 50 people would try it for a couple days before dropping off.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

In the last few minutes of the video, they also go over other Sony GAAS canceled games.

Even during the free open beta it hit a max of just 2000-something concurrent players on Steam and dropped off rapidly. Free or not, nobody wanted this game. I don't know if there's anything they could've done to make people play it.

It'd be like Suicide Squad where they'd release some update and a whopping 50 people would try it for a couple days before dropping off.

Nobody wanted to touch this dumb looking game. DEI characters to the extreme. Not only did they not want to try it, but reinforcing it no doubt no gamer wanted anyone else to know they played it...... LOL hey look! Bob is playing dopey Concord on my friends list.

The funny thing is a bad looking game doesn't mean bad sales. There's endless game which have retro or basic indie graphics that people enjoy playing. That's because it's a good game. People play shooters to gun people down, win the match and level up. Nobody plays a shooter to play as a rotating ship of DEI characters (which the game forced gamers to do after every win). So even if someone found a character they liked, in every other shooter you can stick with him. In Concord, you had to choose another character next round. Maybe some gamers like playing different heroes or loadouts, but I know I dont. In any shooter I play, I have a handful of loadouts and stick with it.

They did that as a DEI mechanic so gamers had to play a diverse set of characters.

 

[Punished Miku]

Even during the free open beta it hit a max of just 2000-something concurrent players on Steam and dropped off rapidly. Free or not, nobody wanted this game. I don't know if there's anything they could've done to make people play it.

It'd be like Suicide Squad where they'd release some update and a whopping 50 people would try it for a couple days before dropping off.

I get your point, but honestly I still don't get it though. We have stuff like CrossFireX that stayed up for a while. This is Sony we're talking about. They could put it on PS+, and keep a skeleton crew for a year. Let people see the story cutscenes they made. I don't think any other GAAS game has ever folded this fast. Not even Foamstars. It's such an extreme reaction from a publisher. I don't think any other publisher would do it.

 

[deeptech]

These fuckers are completely disconnected from what people want. Ever since Jimbo and Herman became in charge, Sony has completely lost it.

It just boggles the mind how could they be so out of touch, they see video games not as art but as business to make money to make money to be able to make more money. Back then wasn't much different but at least devs had lot lot more space and freedom, which is now being exploited so much with remakes and remasters. Video games will be good again when people start making them for fun and artistic expression, as it should be. Execs can literally hit the casino for all I care.

 

[Robb]

I'm still kind of baffled that Concord even happened. Really crazy stuff. Although while it's by far the biggest failure I guess it can take comfort in that similar titles are failing left and right.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I get your point, but honestly I still don't get it though. We have stuff like CrossFireX that stayed up for a while. This is Sony we're talking about. They could put it on PS+, and keep a skeleton crew for a year. Let people see the story cutscenes they made. I don't think any other GAAS game has ever folded this fast. Not even Foamstars. It's such an extreme reaction from a publisher. I don't think any other publisher would do it.

It's not the money.

Sony has shit loads of money and pulls in over $2B profit per year just from the gaming division alone. Keeping up Concord MP going for 12 months with servers and people wouldnt even show up in the financials since it's so small as every big corporation talks in millions or billions. Rounding error.

They got rid of it because it was so bad and laughed it, they just didn't want the torture. The faster they pulled it, the faster everyone stopped laughing at it and doing YT videos. Aside from a handful of videos like above which keep it going, pretty much every streamer and game site stopped talking about it last year after the studio shut down. And all those big Concord threads disappeared too.

It was so bad, auto-deleting it and auto-refunding gamers might be the first time in history. At least first time I've ever heard it. They didnt even give gamers the option for a refund or to keep it. So they didnt even want people still owning it and having it on their SSD for laughs or as a collector's keepsake. They wanted this game stricken from the record asap hoping nobody brings it up ever again.

 

[Punished Miku]

It's not the money.

Sony has shit loads of money and pulls in over $2B profit per year just from the gaming division alone. Keeping up Concord MP going for 12 months with servers and people wouldnt even show up in the financials since it's so small as every big corporation talks in millions or billions. Rounding error.

They got rid of it because it was so bad and laughed it, they just didn't want the torture. The faster they pulled it, the faster everyone stopped laughing at it and doing YT videos. Aside from a handful of videos like above which keep it going, pretty much every streamer stopped talking about it last year and the studio shut down. And all those big Concord threads disappeared too.

It was so bad, auto-deleting it and auto-refunding gamers might be the first time in history. At least first time I've ever heard it. They didnt even give gamers the option for a refund or to keep it. So they didnt even want people still owning it and having it on their SSD for laughs or as a collector's keepsake. They wanted this game stricken from the record asap hoping nobody brings it up ever again.

Completely agree. I think that's the saddest part honestly is that this was canned instantly over their own embarrassment, instead of just thinking of the work the team already completed, the subscription customers who could try it out, or the people that bought the game and the controller, or watched their Showcase showing it off and promising it for over a year.

 

[hemo memo]

That was a huge wake-up call for Sony's "too big to fail" strategy.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

It's like the MattMcMuscles "what happen" video on the Saints Row reboot. Said some total softball bullshit like "Some people didn't like the direction the game went." Yeah "some people" dude, while the game flopped so hard it killed the studio lol

Oh is this one of those videos where they try really hard not to say "woke", "DEI", "ugly", or anything like it? (I won't be able to watch til after work)

 

[Donald mac Ronald]

Did Sony actually spend 400m on this or didn't they take over the project years into it's development anyway?

 

[PeteBull]

​

This is the tragedy of Concord.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Completely agree. I think that's the saddest part honestly is that this was canned instantly over their own embarrassment, instead of just thinking of the work the team already completed, the subscription customers, or the people that bought the game and the controller, or watched their Showcase showing it off and promising it for over a year.

The game cost way too much money with a lot of waste into all those fancy cut scenes.

BUT, if the studio just focused on making a good shooter with zero DEI and more focus on modes and better setting, you never know. Maybe it could had been a good game.

I think universally, the game had good gunplay, netcode and it had awesome character animations. So they got some things right. Maybe if they took those positives and made a military shooter, or something more colourful (but not DEI-ish) with a mish mash of good MP modes (new modes and familiar ones), it could of had legs. And give gamers the option of hero based or do your own thing.

But the second they showed the character select screen and it's filled with dumb looking characters like Big Bad Mama, Cat Girl, Grandma, and Generic Soldier Dude X, it was already over. I dont think I've ever seen a shooter where people focused so much and laughed at the character screen alone.

 

[Kacho]

Oh is this one of those videos where they try really hard not to say "woke", "DEI", "ugly", or anything like it? (I won't be able to watch til after work)

Yes. They never mention anything remotely controversial similar to Matt McMuscles. They skim over or ignore inconvenient things (like Volition's awful PR having a negative impact on Saints Row.)

 

[CowboyLou]

Someone gimme a quick rundown on the budget drama. I remember Colin M rolling out the $400 mil figure but there was a lot of debate and pushback on that. Did we ever get more definitive info one way or another? I'm not checking the OP vid because I don't have time for retards yapping on YT.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Did Sony actually spend 400m on this or didn't they take over the project years into it's development anyway?

Nobody knows. I dont think anyone ever dissected how much of the $400M was split across Sony and Probably Monsters.

One thing that is claimed is the $400M doesn't include the additional costs of buying out the studio. So however much that was, that can be added to the pot.

 

[diffusionx]

Someone gimme a quick rundown on the budget drama. I remember Colin M rolling out the $400 mil figure but there was a lot of debate and pushback on that. Did we ever get more definitive info one way or another? I'm not checking the OP vid because I don't have time for retards yapping on YT.

Nobody who could do so in an official capacity confirmed or denied it, if that is what you are asking.

Did Sony actually spend 400m on this or didn't they take over the project years into it's development anyway?

Sony bought the game from another company. That company spent money but when they sold it, it was likely at a profit, which means if anything Sony spent more than what the other company did when they bought it.

In any case... I am not sure we want to re-open that pandora's box here although some of the more militant anti-Colin posters are not permitted to post here anymore.

 

[havoc00]

 

[Imtjnotu]

No fucking chance this thing cost 400 million for sony

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

There was some video of her (him?) picking up a copy of Concord at Target and telling some random shopper that that character is based on her. And the guy is just like "oh that's nice, I also have a friend who was in a game"

 

[EN250]

Sony defense force in 3...2...1...

 

[TintoConCasera]

Millions must be wasted.

 

[Ar¢tos]

Just imagine the fun smaller games, like Astro Bot, that they could have done with that money...

 

[Lokaum D+]

its so good to see Sony get fuck cause their bad management, hopefully they ll continue to get fucked and return to SP games focus.

 

[Jesb]

It makes no sense at all to dump that much money in this and not release it. The people running Sony are monkeys.

 

[diffusionx]

Sony defense force in 3...2...1...

Nobody defends Sony for this stuff here