Sony closes studio behind Concord: analysis of the industrial disaster

© PlayStation

The story of Concord resembles that of a shipwreck foretold . Seven years of development for a competitive shooter that disappears after only fifteen days of operation.

Sony has decided to permanently close the Concord servers and shutting down the studio. The abrupt closure of Firewalk Studiosmarks another dark chapter in modern gaming history, with 172 developers left without jobs.

A never-ending development with fatal consequences

Project Concord began in 2017, a time when the hero shooter market was still in its infancy. Seven years later, the gaming landscape has changed dramatically. Overwatch 2, Valorant, and Apex Legends now dominate the genre with a well-established free-to-play business model.

This excessive development time has not only swallowed up considerable resources (400 million dollars), but has above all condemned the game to arrive on a saturated market with codes already deeply rooted.

A price positioning in total mismatch

The decision to market Concord at 40 euros in the face of completely free competition illustrates a profound misunderstanding of market expectations.

Gamers, accustomed to free-to-play models with seasonal battle passes, did not buy into this pricing proposition. This pricing strategy reveals a flagrant lack of analysis of the sector and consumer behavior.

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Sony's surprising absence from the promotion

© Unsplash – Charles Sims

Even more surprisingly, Sony did not mobilize its powerful marketing machine to support the launch of Concord. The Japanese giant has a massive and loyal community that could have served as a springboard for the game.

This lack of support promotional raises questions, especially on the publisher's real faith in the project.

A decent game, but soulless

Critics agree: Concord was not a bad game. But in an ultra-competitive market, being “decent” is no longer enough. The lack of any notable innovations or differentiating elements did not allow the title to stand out.

Players simply did not find a convincing reason to abandon their usual games to invest in this new proposition.

A worrying trend for the industry

The closure of Firewalk Studios is part of a broader wave of restructuring in the video game industry. Netflix recently closed its studio before a project was even announced, while Microsoft shut down four Zenimax studios. One thing is for sure, it’s a pretty dark time for the video game industry right now.

• Seven years of development made Concord obsolete before it was even released
• It had an untenable business model against free-to-play competitors
• A lack of marketing support and innovation that sealed the fate of the game and its studio

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