"Thank you team, we made something awesome" - Concord developers mourn the failed FPS that PlayStation pulled the plug on after just 14 days

Concord
(Image credit: Firewalk)

And just like that, Concord servers are now offline. PlayStation pulled the plug on its struggling hero shooter just two weeks after it stepped out into the brutal live service arena, while Firewalk Studios works out "the best path ahead." Buyers have been refunded, but developers who worked on the game are now saying their (maybe temporary) goodbyes.

Concord animator David Reyes posted a picture of the game's now ultra-rare Platinum Trophy - the one that had players desperately jumping off cliffs - that only 0.2% of players ever nabbed. "This platinum is very special to me... Thank you team, we made something awesome."

"I cannot thank this community enough for the amount of love and support they've poured into us," community development lead Bethany Hulse tweeted. "Thank you for being here, and for being a part of the journey."

"It's gone," senior lighting artist Adam Alexander tweeted. "I'm sorry to see it go, but I am so lucky to get to have worked with Firewalk and this team for the last two years. I've had the chance to work with and learn from some of the most talented, kind folks in the field here, and am proud of what we made."

Lead character designer Jon Weisnewski instead spent the game's last hours posting some admittedly cool clips from the shooter that make me kind of sad I might never get to try it. He also had some cool tips and tricks to share for any freegunners that were still kicking about - see below.

After cramming in as many matches as he could, designer director Josh Hamrick tweeted that "It was really hard to stop playing and head to bed. I love this game so damn much. Thanks for the matches, y’all."

If you're curious about what Concord's final seconds looked like, there wasn't actually anything flashy going on in-game to mark it going offline, aside from an anti-climatic notification screen, probably because the team didn't have much time to prepare.

What happens now is anyone's guess. I imagine PlayStation would want to recoup some development costs from its close to eight-year production journey by potentially cramming Concord to fit a free-to-play model. But as a former Destiny developer recently pointed out, there have been bigger comebacks in gaming, so anything's possible.

After Redfall and Suicide Squad, Concord’s death must be the nail in the coffin for the industry’s failed live-service push. 

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

Read more
XDefiant gameplay screenshot showing gunfight
XDefiant just put out an absolutely massive patch featuring 3 new factions and more for a game you can't even download now
Last Spartan Standing
With Concord in the rearview, Halo Infinite dev is glad it's still kicking "in a climate where games can be shut down with little notice"
Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal
PlayStation's cancelled reboot of its vehicular combat classic was reportedly a battle royale that let you exit the vehicles
Concept art for Naughty Dog's new standalone multiplayer title
Cancelled The Last of Us Online game was "great," but former PlayStation exec says Naughty Dog had to scrap it after Bungie told them how much work it would be
A Helldiver from Helldivers 2 stand proudly atop a pile of Terminids.
After a year of PSN controversy, balance woes, and a 63-day recovery effort, Helldivers 2 devs say "we've been on a rollercoaster, but we're also in an extremely privileged position to be on this rollercoaster"
Resident Evil ReVerse
The Resident Evil deathmatch game that flopped is going offline as Capcom says it's "served its original, celebratory purpose admirably"
Latest in FPS
Doom: The Dark Ages screenshot
Doom director claims The Dark Ages can be beaten without using a gun, but "the game's not necessarily built to do that"
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Battlefield dev reveals more of his Bad Company 3 script and confirms the plot would revolve around the squad getting kicked out of the military and brought back for a final suicide mission
A Titan readies for combat in an animated trailer for Apex Legends Season 19
Yet another Respawn shooter has reportedly been canceled, following the studio's Star Wars FPS and rumored Titanfall Legends game to the grave
A cropped screenshot from the pre-alpha gameplay footage shown in the 'Introducing Battlefield Labs' video.
Battlefield 6's first teaser takes me back to the days of Modern Warfare 2 lobbies and 24/7 Metro matches, proving we all crave a return to shooters' simpler times
Doom
Doom: The Dark Ages' new cutscenes exist because of fans' unlikely obsession with the series' lore: "A Doom game that doesn’t have a story is just an arcade game”
Battlefield Bad Company 2
"I am freaked out by how much might actually have been accurate": Battlefield Bad Company 3 writer unearths forgotten script
Latest in News
inZOI Character Studio screenshot showing a young woman with short black/pink hair, black cat-like ears, and a black blouse with a bowtie
The creator of upcoming life sim Inzoi says he was "recklessly brave to even think about creating a game of this scale"
Rise of the Ronin
A year after its PS5 launch, Rise of the Ronin debuts on PC to "Mixed" reviews and performance complaints: "Stuttering on a 4090 is just... no"
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog