Sony’s ambitious multiplayer shooter barely lasted two weeks before the servers went dark. Former Concord developers now say the game wasn’t given a fair chance and that its shutdown was more of a “mercy killing” than a true reflection of its quality.

Concord, developed by Firewalk Studios under PlayStation Studios, quickly became one of the most infamous projects of this generation. Just two weeks after release, the game was taken offline, a move that cemented its place as “one of Sony’s biggest failures.” Yet several ex-developers have since shared their side of the story, arguing that the title didn’t deserve that stigma and was shut down too soon.

Backed by a hefty budget, Concord was pitched as a long-term project with seasonally expanding cinematic storylines. It even featured in Amazon’s Secret Level series, signaling Sony and Firewalk’s confidence. But lukewarm beta reactions, low attendance, and poor public reception left the title with a tiny player base at launch, ultimately forcing its premature closure.

Ex-Developers: “It Didn’t Deserve This”

That was the abrupt end of Firewalk Studios’ first and only major release. Speaking on the A Life Well Wasted podcast, developers reflected on the turbulent development process. They admitted that the leadership’s insistence that it “couldn’t fail” created an environment of pressure and red flags. As one of them recalled: “Every creative effort was a desperate gamble. From the day I joined four years ago, the mantra was, ‘This is too big to fail.’”

According to these developers, the real issues weren’t in the core design but in how the game was presented. Its aesthetics, characters, and story failed to resonate, and many players never even gave it a try. One developer summed it up bluntly: “There’s one thing worse than making a bad game, and that’s making one that isn’t great.” Poor communication of goals and a muddled marketing push sealed its fate.

Even so, the developers stand by their work. They insist Concord wasn’t inherently a bad game. “It didn’t deserve this,” said one, while another lamented the fact that most gamers never got to experience it for themselves.

Source: 3djuegos