Secret Level's Producer can't fathom how Concord failed: 'There were no nicer or more invested group than the Concord team'

Tim Miller, the producer of Amazon's Secret Level series, which will turn 15 games in animated shorts, sat with Rolling Stone and discussed Concord, one of the infamous entries. He also discussed how Concord's downfall might have affected the show.

Miller says, "There was no more dedicated group of developers than Concord." "I honestly can't understand why the game didn't work. I know they tried their best, and they were a talented bunch of artists. So I feel bad for that."

Before Sony announced that they were shutting down servers, players and critics had been analyzing why Concord failed. I played around with the game modes, looked at the cosmetics, and customised Concord before it went off-line. My biggest issue was that it was ok. Concord, at $40/PS35, was never going survive as a half decent shooter in a market so flooded.

Helldivers 2 was able to make money with an upfront payment as low as $40/PS35. This is because it offered more than just cosmetics; it offered a unique experience that players couldn't find anywhere else. Concord, however, was a game that felt similar to other hero-shooters.

It's not necessary for games to stand out, but I thought that Concord was killed by the decision to not go free-to play before it even got its feet. It prevented potential players from trying it out on a random basis, and in doing so, its player count was drastically reduced. I found it difficult to find a Concord launch week game with a ridiculously low player count. The highest number of players on Steam was 607, and that was the most. Even in the last days, when everyone was soaring off cliffs to earn XP, I only had 35 players playing with me.

Miller says, "I don't think it's bad that it's in the show. I think it turned out really nicely and you can see the potential of this character and world." "If this is the last vestige of the product, I hope that the developers feel it's at least a little worth the blood, sweat and tears that they put into it."

It's not ideal that Concord launched and then shut down so close to Secret Level, but it doesn't appear to be a major issue for the television series. Miller also pointed out in the Rolling Stone interview that the other entries don't come form the most active franchises. Mega Man and Unreal Tournament do not seem to have much in the pipeline.

Miller goes on to say he hopes Secret Level will help to kick-start new projects, or at least bring some light to older franchises. This could include inspiriting some developers to continue working on old projects or dormant franchises, even if it means using the groundwork that Secret Level will lay out.