Featured Image Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Contributor/Getty / Playstation
There have been some pretty big video game disasters over the years, with Nintendo's Virtual Boy being called one of the worst inventions of all time, copies of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial being buried in a landfill, and Duke Nukem Forever tanking after 15 years of development.
Video games have come a long way since these disasters, but unfortunately, lessons still need to be learned. 2024 has been a particularly rough one for the industry, with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League reportedly putting Warner Bros. $200 million in the red.
I spoke extensively with someone who worked on Concord, and it's so much worse than you think.
— Colin Moriarty (@longislandviper) September 20, 2024
It was internally referred to as "The Future of PlayStation" with Star Wars-like potential, and a dev culture of "toxic positivity" halted any negative feedback.
Making it cost $400m. pic.twitter.com/F5O0oy4gaQ
Still, that's nothing compared to the commercial and critical failure of Firewalk Studios' Concord. Released on August 26, 2024, Concord was pulled from sale after a matter of weeks and its servers went dark on September 6. According to Sacred Symbols’ Colin Moriarty, Concord cost a bank-busting $400 million.
Concord was supposed to be the 'future' of PlayStation, with this Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired hero shooter pitched as having the same IP potential as something like Star Wars. From minimal marketing to a $40 price tag when shooters like Overwatch 2 are free-to-play, Concord was arguably on life support before it even released.
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YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss has even named Concord in his "13 Most EMBARRASSING Tech Fails of all time" video, which has since been removed due to a copyright claim (as of 22 October). From Amazon shipping soiled nappies to Cybertruck recalls, there are some real clangers here. Still, Mrwhosetheboss lists Concord at No. 5.
Saying, "Have you heard of Corcord, I'm going to guess you haven't?" Mrwhosetheboss highlights one of the big issues with Firewalk's fabled flop.
Boasting former Bungie staff who'd worked on Destiny 2, Concord was supposed to be a major PlayStation first-party game up there with The Last of Us or God of War. Despite some grumbles about the $40 entry fee, Concord wasn't adopting the traditional battle pass model where you'd have to keep paying. Instead, there was an impressive lineup of post-release content that wouldn't cost a penny - if Concord had ever gone that far.
Mrwhosetheboss suggests PlayStation was doomed from the start, highlighting how Concord was hit with negative reviews as soon as its first trailer dropped. He goes on to call out 'boring' character designs, hero shooter fatigue, and the '70s sci-fi aesthetic not scoring points with younger fans.
We'd say that last one is a bit unfair because you only have to look at Star Wars or Alien's worn look to see how retro nostalgia can be a major hit.
Whereas Counter-Strike 2 boasts a concurrent Steam player count of 1,818,773, Concord's all-time peak was just 697 players.
While Concord is spared from Mrwhosetheboss' top spot of tech fails (the Y2K Bug takes that honor), Sony and Firewalk have been 'burned' by the whole ordeal. With eight years of development and $400 million down the drain if the numbers are correct, Concord will be remembered for all of the wrong reasons.
