Sony’s Concord made headlines for all the wrong reasons when it was pulled from the market just weeks after launch. Released with high expectations, the game failed to resonate with players, prompting Sony to take the unusual step of shutting it down entirely. At the time, Sony stated its intent to “explore options to better reach our players,” hinting at a potential future relaunch, perhaps in a free-to-play format. However, many were skeptical about its chances of a revival—until now.
Despite being offline since September 6, an intriguing series of updates has recently been applied to Concord on Steam. According to data from SteamDB, these updates started appearing on September 30 and continued regularly for nearly two weeks, with around six updates per day until October 10. While the technical details of the updates remain unclear to non-programmers, some notable terms—such as “playtest,” “pmtest,” and “sonyqae” (which may stand for Sony quality assurance engineer)—suggest that development work is actively happening behind the scenes.
After a brief pause, the updates resumed today, October 16, focusing on changes to the game’s “legal lines” and adding a health warning for players with a history of epilepsy. Interestingly, this same update was applied simultaneously to other Sony titles on Steam, including Helldivers 2, God of War, and God of War: Ragnarok. This could indicate that Concord is simply part of a broader, company-wide update—but the frequency and volume of previous updates imply something more significant may be happening with the game.
Sony has remained tight-lipped about what these updates mean. A request for comment has gone unanswered, leaving the gaming community to speculate. Could these updates signal a forthcoming free-to-play relaunch? It wouldn’t be entirely surprising. Concord was a completed game, and with Sony having acquired its developer, Firewalk Studios, in 2023, it’s unlikely they would abandon the project without exploring new options to recoup their investment. Dropping the game’s original $40 price tag could attract curious players, especially if Concord were offered for free.
However, even if a relaunch is in the works, success is far from guaranteed. Free-to-play games live or die by their quality, and Concord would need substantial updates and improvements to attract and retain players. Firewalk Studios has a tough road ahead if they plan to turn the game around, and it’s unclear whether these updates are the beginning of a larger effort or merely routine maintenance.
For now, Sony’s silence leaves much up in the air, but one thing is certain: Concord isn’t entirely dead yet. Whether its next chapter will be one of redemption or another failure remains to be seen.
