Concord isn't returning, and neither is the developer. Sony has said that it has considered all its options, and that 'the best way forward is to permanently close the studio and sunset the game'.

Concord is not making the comeback that I predicted. Sony announced today the game won't be brought back and developer Firewalk Studio will be closing.

"As announced early September, certain aspects of Concord were exceptional. However, others did not receive enough players and as a consequence, we took the game off line," Sony Interactive Entertainment studio group CEO Hermen Hulst stated in a PlayStation Studios Update. "We have spent a lot of time in the past few months exploring our options.

After much consideration, we have decided that the best way forward is to permanently close the game and the studio. I would like to thank everyone at Firewalk for their dedication, creativity and craftsmanship.

Hulst stated in his message that he "believes in the benefits of embracing creativity and developing new IP," however, he added that "sustainable finances" are crucial and Concord failed to meet this requirement. SteamDB shows that it had a peak concurrent player count of 660 on Steam, which dropped quickly in the week following launch.

Hulst wrote, "The PvP First Person Shooter genre is a highly competitive market that's constantly evolving. Unfortunately, we didn't hit our targets with this game." "We will use the lessons we learned from Concord to improve our live service capabilities and deliver future growth in this field. "=

Firewalk Studios, in a final message posted on X shortly after Sony announced the announcement, praised its "incredible" team and defended Concord's status as "a great FPS... even if landed narrowly against a heavily consolidated marketplace."

"We took some risks along the way--marrying aspects of card battlers and fighting games with first-person-shooters--and although some of these and other aspects of the IP didn't land as we hoped, the idea of putting new things into the world is critical to pushing the medium forward," the studio wrote.

The talent and level of individual craftsmanship at Firewalk is truly world-class. Teams within Sony Interactive Entertainment and throughout the industry will have the privilege to work with them. Please contact Recruiting at PlayStation with any questions. Thank you to the many teams, partners, and fans who have supported us on our journey.

It's a sad, but not surprising ending to one of videogame history's biggest and most infamous flops. Concord flopped almost immediately after landing with a thud. After five years of development, and positive initial impressions from Sony (which liked Concord so well it bought the studio), Concord landed with a bang and was a complete failure. Sony halted the sales of the game within two weeks of its launch, and it was taken offline completely on September 6th.

The game was originally released at a $40 cost, which did not do it any good. But by closing Firewalk , and explicitly burying Concord Sony has made it clear that it wants to forget this whole episode.

Sony is closing its mobile studio Neon Koi, which has nothing to do with Concord. Bloomberg reports that between the two studio closures, 210 people were laid off. However, some of them will find work at other Sony Studios: Hulst stated in his message that, "we will try to find placement for those impacted within our community of studios wherever possible."