Concord is a popular game, but its $40 cost has led to a lackluster first weekend on PC

Concord's PC sales are not looking good. The PlayStation Network does not have any public numbers. The $40 hero-shooter is receiving mostly positive reviews on Steam. However, SteamDB reports that the game has only attracted 697 PC users in its first weekend.

Concord has received positive reviews on Steam, and they are in line with PC Gamer's Morgan Park who wrote a preview of the game. The game's balance is the opposite of Valve's now-public Deadlock. It's more of an action-oriented shooter, with less emphasis on abilities. It's closer to Call of Duty and Destiny's Crucible rather than Overwatch.

It's a pretty game with an aesthetic inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy and some aspirations for continued seasonal storytelling. Some reviews claim it's a bit anemic in terms of content, which is hardly a grave sin for launching a live service. But the real issue is the $40 admission price.

Helldivers 2 was a $40 Sony-published multi-player game that blew all expectations out of water earlier this year. But it's an entirely different beast than Concord, and every other game. There's nothing like it anywhere else. Arrowhead was a great bet even before Helldivers 2 became a runaway hit. It had less MMORPG faff than Warframe or Destiny, but more story and progression than co-op games like Killing Floor.

There are many hero and arena games out there. The best ones are well-established, cheaper or even free. Regardless of how good Concord's shooting or aesthetic is, Destiny, Overwatch XDefiant Apex Legends The Finals and (at least now, if you get an invitation) Deadlock fill a similar niche and are all completely free. They also have established player bases, competitive scenes, or (in Deadlock’s case) a surge of interest and word-of-mouth. This genre's time commitment requirement makes it difficult to play multiple games. I think most players only have one or two favorites.

I don't want to do a grave dance about Concord, which took eight years to create and has a lot of things to recommend it for a shooter. But 2024 is a difficult year to release an online multiplayer shooter, even under the best circumstances. Concord's high price tag would also be a burden.