Sony’s highly-anticipated multiplayer shooter Concord is facing an abrupt and unexpected end just weeks after its release. Instead of celebrating a blockbuster launch, Sony is pulling the game offline and offering full refunds, following an avalanche of online discussion not about the game’s success, but its striking lack of players.
Concord, a first-party title from Sony, launched on August 23, but the game immediately struggled to attract players, with shockingly low Steam concurrent player numbers. At its peak, the game saw just 697 players on Steam, and those numbers have since dwindled even further. As of today, only 130 players remain online, marking a stunningly low engagement for such a high-profile release.
The numbers are even more concerning when considering Concord’s broader sales performance. While some games have slow starts, the numbers here suggest a deeper issue. Liam Deane, a principal analyst at Omdia, emphasized that the Steam figures alone indicate that the game is “doing very badly.” Though Sony has yet to reveal specific PlayStation 5 figures, the overall performance is bleak. Mat Piscatella, an analyst at Circana, reported that on August 26, Concord ranked 147th in daily active players on PS5, with fewer than 0.2% of active players logging into the game. Industry estimates suggest the game has sold around 10,000 units on Steam and 15,000 on PlayStation—figures well below expectations for a major first-party release.
Why Did Concord Fail?
Many analysts agree on the core reasons behind Concord‘s collapse: poor marketing, a high price tag, and a lack of differentiation in an overcrowded live-service shooter market.
Marketing was a particular sore point. Mat Piscatella noted that Concord suffered from low awareness and purchase intent leading up to its release. Despite being a new intellectual property (IP), there was minimal promotion on major platforms like GameStop, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. Piers Harding-Rolls, research director at Ampere Analysis, echoed these concerns, pointing out that while trailers were released, they weren’t enough to build excitement ahead of the launch. Joost van Dreunen, an NYU professor, added that Concord‘s lack of an established fanbase made effective pre-launch marketing crucial, yet Sony didn’t adequately meet this challenge.
However, even with more aggressive marketing, Concord would have faced an uphill battle. The live-service shooter space is notoriously competitive, and many of the industry’s top analysts lamented the game’s lack of a unique hook to distinguish it from rivals. Rhys Elliott, an analyst at Midia Research, noted that despite being a “fun, high-quality shooter,” Concord struggled to stand out in an oversaturated genre, where players are already deeply invested in long-established franchises.
A Cautionary Tale
Sony’s decision to pull Concord offline just weeks after its release signals a broader challenge for the gaming industry. Despite years of development and significant financial investment, even well-made games can falter in a crowded market if they fail to generate excitement and player engagement early on.
For Concord, the combination of lackluster marketing, a steep price point, and failure to differentiate itself ultimately proved fatal. The game’s downfall may serve as a cautionary tale for publishers venturing into the increasingly competitive world of live-service shooters.
With Concord now officially shelved, Sony will be offering full refunds to those who purchased the game, leaving the gaming community wondering what’s next for the studio behind the ill-fated shooter.
