With Concord's Servers Now Closed, Fans Wonder If It'll Return as Free-to-Play. At Least One Expert Has Doubts (www.ign.com)

As of about 10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET on September 6, Concord’s servers are officially closed. Sony’s troubled live service game didn’t even last two weeks, failing to fill its beta and launching to a

. Ultimately it is estimated to have only sold around 25,000 units, which is extraordinarily low by first-party release standards.

Concord servers are now offline.

Thank you again to all the Freegunners who have joined us in the Concord galaxy. pic.twitter.com/o1dTywrqUx

— Concord (@PlayConcord) September 6, 2024

On Bluesky, Circana executive director Mat Piscatella called Concord’s shutdown “unprecedented,” nothing that even Anthem was the best-selling game of February 2019 and is still playable today. Asked how it compares to the likes of The Day Before and Crucible, two other games that were shuttered soon after release, Piscatella said that this “one reads differently to me than anything that’s come before,” describing it as being “soundly rejected” by players.

It makes Concord one of the most remarkable news stories of the year — a first party release that ultimately never had a chance.

Does Concord have a future as a free-to-play game?

Still, at least some fans are wondering if there’s a future for Sony’s shooter. Could Concord work as a free-to-play game? That’s been one of the main questions on platforms like X/Twitter and Resetera as fans debate the path ahead for Sony. Even before Concord shut down, Forbes writer Paul Tassi called its transition to free-to-play “inevitable,” though wondered if it would change things.

There are certainly plenty of sticking points. The roster failed to resonate with fans, and the art style and writing has variously been described as a kind of off-brand Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s also little in terms of innovation to differentiate Concord from other hero shooters. In a market flooded with live service games, success is increasingly a zero sum game, and Concord was on the wrong side of the divide.

Nevertheless, we found points to like about Concord. In our review, we described the competitive gameplay as “fantastic” and praised its map design. In its closing days, a collection of trophy hunters made a last second dash to try and grab what will soon be one of PlayStation’s rarest Platinums, even going so far as to throw themselves off cliffs to grind XP.

So will it return? One Resetera user opines. “I’m guessing it’ll probably end up going F2P and then quietly shuttered if it doesn’t find an audience quickly. Doing that’s going to be a hell of a task though as the game was designed around progress not being monetised. I feel terrible for Firewalk, all that time invested into what’s apparently a pretty decent game to have this happen straight after launch. I have a horrible feeling that there’s going to be some layoffs coming soon.”

Piscatella, for his part, is…