Concord's backend files are seemingly still being updated despite its unceremonious, maybe-temporary shutdown.
Despite acquiring the developer and reportedly spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the project, publisher PlayStation was quick to pull the plug on its would-be live service contender just two weeks after release. The $40 FPS failed to attract hero shooter fans en masse or court newcomers to support its ambitious post-launch roadmap, which included expensive-smelling weekly animated cutscenes that would flesh out its sci-fi universe.
PlayStation then pulled the game from sale and refunded those who bought it, all while developer Firewalk Studios worked to "determine the best path ahead." It now seems that some progress is being made on whatever comes next for Concord, as the game's backend files on SteamDB have been updated every day for 11 days straight.
- Despite more than $60 million in investments, Shroud-backed FPS Spectre Divide and its dev are shutting down after the first season failed "to cover day-to-day costs"
- 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"
There's no clue as to what exactly is being updated - that's all under wraps - but the updates have spurred speculation that Concord might not be properly dead. Many guessed that PlayStation would want to recoup some development costs by repackaging Concord as a free-to-play release with all the money-making battle passes that it initially promised not to include.
Such a comeback isn't impossible. Final Fantasy 14 and Fallout 76, just to name a few, also turned around dismal launches. But Concord stands out because it was never an especially bad or broken game; it was just one that never inspired any excitement. It was eight years late to a trend that was no longer trending, and didn't quite do enough to reignite the hero shooter craze. Here's hoping Firewalk can get something going.
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