Concord Cancelled

[911 Jumper]

Interesting piece from Push Square, takes aim at Hermen Hulst (PS co-CEO)

Reaction: PlayStation Needs to Take a Long, Hard Look at Itself

In an unprecedented move, Sony will axe Concord on 6th September, just two weeks after the high-budget first-person shooter released. This multi-million dollar blunder goes beyond disaster – it’s an absolute embarrassment, and will forever be a stain on the format holder’s record. PlayStation’s always had first-party flops, but this product was so utterly rejected by its audience and the industry at large that it gives us a glimpse into an organisation utterly out of touch. It’d also probably put PS Studios boss Hermen Hulst under the microscope – if he hadn’t already been prematurely promoted to co-CEO.

As it happens, the ex-Guerrilla managing director will probably escape most of the blame here, as ire will instead be directed at disliked executive Jim Ryan, who departed the company earlier in the year. However, Ryan would have only been responsible for signing the cheques in this excruciating incident – this was Hulst’s baby through and through.

He said as much in 2023, when PlayStation acquired developer Firewalk Studios. “We continue to be impressed by the team’s ambitions to build a modern multiplayer game that connects players in new and innovative ways,” the Dutchman wrote on the PS Blog. Concord would go on to connect players in new and innovative ways, of course – as it was met with a level of disdain and indifference on a scale we’ve never seen before. Analysts suggest the title may have sold as few as 25,000 copies, undoubtedly making it PlayStation’s biggest ever bomb. Even forgotten forays like Kill Strain lasted six or so months.

It’s worrying that Sony allowed this product to reach the market at all. There would have been focus testing and extensive analysis behind-the-scenes, and apparently no one on a six-or-seven figure salary was able to pick up on the problems. The platform holder, instead, doubled down: spare a thought for poor upcoming Amazon Prime television show Secret Levels, which has an entire episode inspired by the universe of Concord. The release will have been offline for three months by the time that airs.

Pay your respects to Haven, too, the Canadian studio behind the widely disliked Fairgame$ – another title signed by Hulst. This co-operative shooter was announced alongside Concord last year, and was criticised much harder than Firewalk’s FPS. It simply can’t reach market without an extensive post-mortem; whoever has been championing these projects internally is going to need to take a long, hard look at the direction they’re steering the company because this ain’t it.

In fact, with the exception of Helldivers 2, the firm’s whole live service push looks like it’s in tatters right now. Pulling the plug on Concord this quickly, without any rescue attempt, will have consequences. Why should you trust Sony with your money and, more importantly, your time when it axes releases so ruthlessly? Yes, this underlines just how profoundly awful the sci-fi shooter has performed, but it’s a stench that will stick to all of the firm’s future multiplayer products – especially those that have turbulent starts.

Firewalk says that it’s exploring its options, but that’s a euphemism and we’re sad to say the studio will likely be shut down. While we hate to see talented developers out of work, we don’t think the developer itself can entirely be absolved of the blame. To our knowledge it made the experience it wanted to make, and that doesn’t automatically entitle it to success.

But this game is symptomatic of wider problems within the PlayStation hierarchy. Hulst’s rapid rise to the top is giving us pause, especially when his hit rate thus far includes the acquisition of self-destructing studio Bungie and the biggest flop in PS Studios history. He, along with his advisors and subordinates, have a lot of soul searching to do over the coming days.

Sony needs a cash cow, because its single player games are costing too much and taking too long to make. The mistake it’s made is trying to force the initiative on a fanbase that’s disconnected after years of being kept in the dark. For the enthusiasts reading Push Square, Concord is more than just an uneventful hero shooter: it’s emblematic of an organisation at odds with the demands of its most committed players.

Astro Bot’s inevitable acclaim will help heal wounds this week, but the soul searching must continue behind-the-scenes: PlayStation needs to find a way to fix the frayed relationship with its fans, otherwise we don’t see this tug-of-war with its most engaged players coming to an end.

Source: Push Square

 

[ultimanecat]

Unironically the physical copy might be worth something eventually. This is a game that got removed from sale a week or two after release and nobody bought it. The number of physical copies of that game floating around in 10 years could well be in the hundreds.

 

[markec]

Unironically the physical copy might be worth something eventually. This is a game that got removed from sale a week or two after release and nobody bought it. The number of physical copies of that game floating around in 10 years could well be in the hundreds.

 

[Toffeli]

 

[deuxhero]

I have to wonder Fairgame$'s fate after this. It looked further ahead in development than Concord was back in 2023 (remember Concord had a no gameplay trailer, but Fairgame$ had a lot). Quietly canned (with WB style writeoff?)? Shoved out door and left to die? Retarded double down with change in direction that can't possibly fix the core problems?

 

[Caim]

you have heard of flight of the conchords

now get ready for

concord didn't fly so good

 

[treborSux]

 

[The Decline]

Hope you bigots and chuds are happy now!!!


800 devs are going to lose their job now!!!!!!! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope they get cancer as well.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

This shitty game might become a rare collectable in future years...I can imagine hard copies selling for thousands in 10 years, never underestimate the insanity of the left, they'll build altars around the game covers. Unboxed copies Atari's ET (1982) can sell for up to $1400.

Damn, you’re saying if we buy now in 40 years we might be able to flip those copies for less than $2000? Time to buy now and play the very long game.

 

[Pika-Cthulhu]

Ross could use their outrage for his campaign

 

[Valestein]

 

[tommy heavenly6]

 

[HammyTheFat]

Not related to Concord itself but Sony and their pursuit for live service shit and hero shooters:



For those who dont know, its another hero shooter slop but focused on heists/extract loot (just like the cancelled heist hero shooter "Hyenas" made by Total War devs, published by SEGA)



I will laugh my ass off if this flops as badly as Concord. TOTAL SNOY DEATH

This is also what I would leak as an executive if I was massively shitting myself over another big flop on the horizon.

y-yeah guys we're really e-excited about this one!

and then I would go downstairs and fire anyone with neon colored hair and have someone who makes overwatch porn brought in to resdesign every character.

 

[luj1]

Bumcord

 

[aweigh]

 

[Valestein]

 

[Reinhardt]

THIS GAEM IS NOT FOR YOU! SO WHY DON'T YOU BUY THIS GAME?! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!!!

 

[Reinhardt]

seriously tho - screech at me one more time and i'll bitchslap you. go chimp at your diverse bipox comrades of color for not buying this fantastic game. chud goober gobers literally dindu nuffin(pity). it's aaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllll your fault.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Kids love overwatch and "hero shooters". Is it because they feel cool when they play these online games? This is the reason why concord bombed? Is it because concord aesthetics was more a parody of these cool kids? Poor kids. That so uncool to make irony of them.

 

[Haba]

Now imagine a alternative world where instead of commies you have a autistic billionaire funding decent to great sequels to the old games regardless of sales and this becomes even more sad.

The problem of "just pour money on it" is that it doesn't create great games.

Old games turned out good because they had restraints and there was external pressure. You need that ambition and hunger for success to make something truly great. And quite a bit of starvation, too. X-Com, as an example, would be a completely different game w/o the "evil publisher meddling". Frankly it'd been shit.

 

[flyingjohn]

Old games turned out good because they had restraints and there was external pressure

Some of them did. Don't think most games in the 80's had too much external pressure.

Frankly it'd been shit.

The publisher cancelled the game, it wouldn't have been made.

 

[Reinhardt]

money are good to have but passion comes first. i doubt throwing million at pierre would make that big difference. he would spend it on voice acting and other useless shit.
look what all those has beens from obsidian did after getting money exactly for "making sequels for old games". soulless shit.

 

[Swen]

money are good to have but passion comes first. i doubt throwing million at pierre would make that big difference. he would spend it on voice acting and other useless shit.
look what all those has beens from obsidian did after getting money exactly for "making sequels for old games". soulless shit.

Indeed that's why Larian moved on from BG3 even though they could milk it.

 

[Odoryuk]

It's like poetry. An account with a blue tick posts a screenshot of a bait steam topic so the op could farm clown awards, to farm engagement

 

[Azdul]

Now imagine a alternative world where instead of commies you have a autistic billionaire funding decent to great sequels to the old games regardless of sales and this becomes even more sad.

The problem of "just pour money on it" is that it doesn't create great games.

Old games turned out good because they had restraints and there was external pressure. You need that ambition and hunger for success to make something truly great. And quite a bit of starvation, too. X-Com, as an example, would be a completely different game w/o the "evil publisher meddling". Frankly it'd been shit.

If not for corporate mergers and following management paralysis, X-Com would have been killed multiple times.

The problem with Concord and also Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is that publisher bought the developer, not the game. There was no easy way to stop funding the project and cut the losses, even after getting rid of Jim Ryan.