In a shocking move, Sony has announced the shutdown of Concord just two weeks after its release, sparking a frenzy among remaining players who are racing to earn the coveted Platinum trophy before the game goes offline on September 6. Despite a refund being offered to all players, Concord, developed by PlayStation Studios’ Firewalk, struggled with an abysmally low player count at launch.
Ryan Ellis, director at Firewalk, addressed the game’s closure, saying: “While many aspects of the experience resonated with players, we acknowledge that other elements of the game and our initial launch did not meet expectations.”
Following the announcement, reports emerged of players deliberately losing Rivalry matches in a rush to accumulate experience points. Rivalry, a best-of-seven, single-life mode where two teams compete for dominance, has become the quickest way to grind for XP. Players are now intentionally running off platforms to end rounds as fast as possible, maximizing experience gains to reach reputation level 100 — the requirement for unlocking the Platinum trophy.
The rush to earn XP has led to widespread match-throwing, where teams work together to lose or win four consecutive rounds in just minutes. However, some players are concerned they won’t have enough time to grind to the Platinum trophy, fearing it will become one of the rarest in PlayStation history.
Concord’s disastrous launch has drawn comparisons to other major flops, with analysts estimating sales of just 25,000 units and a peak of only 697 concurrent players on Steam. This has raised concerns about the future of Firewalk and the viability of Sony’s other upcoming live service titles, including Bungie’s Marathon and Haven’s Fairgame$, neither of which have set release dates.
