Can Concord Be Saved?
Concord’s shutdown generated more buzz than its release. Mainly because the time between the release and shutdown was around two weeks. And they probably made that decision even earlier.
With the game being in development for eight years and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, where did it all go wrong? How come Concord did so poorly? And lastly and most importantly, is there a way for it to rise from the dead?
There are no definite answers to those questions — I don’t think even Sony can answer them confidently, but that shouldn’t stop us from talking about it.
What Happened?
Low sales were the main reason for the shutdown — obviously — but why did it happen in the first place?
Personally, I don’t think there was one particular thing that led to failure but it’s more of a microcosm of smaller things that kept piling up. It’s a very unfortunate thing that happened but sometimes it’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
One of the biggest reasons it failed so badly, in my opinion, is that it was released within the same week as one of the biggest titles of the year — Black Myth Wukong. That alone is bound to affect the sales. I mean, if I bought one game this week, I for sure ain’t buying another one until I’m done with the one I got.
And I think most people think the same — please correct me if I’m wrong.
Releasing Concord earlier or later would have been a good idea. Maybe not enough to save it, but it would be a step in the right direction.
The other reason would be the lack of originality. Concord just looked like a faker version of other popular games like Overwatch 2.
It’s as if someone went through the list of OW2 characters and made them even less interesting. This leads to the other thing, which is the price. Why would I pay for Concord when there are so many better free versions out there. And there are even more coming out, like Marvel Rivals.
There are more things that probably influenced poor sales but you get the gist of it. There is no going back now, it’s done.
How To Fix It?
I’m going to be completely honest with you here — the chances of Concord bouncing back are slim.
If we look at it from a business standpoint, they’ll probably just scrap it, stop pouring more money into it, and write it off as a loss. Because the alternative would be a pure gamble. They would need to put more money and hours into the game and hope it succeeds, which no one can guarantee.
But if by some miracle, they decide to work on it, what are some of the necessary steps needed to give Concord a fighting chance?
Firstly, they would need to revamp all of the characters and make them more original. Just change everything about them. Make them more unique, something that we didn’t already see a bajillion times. Make some other small changes to the game that would affect the overall experience.
But the thing that actually could give it a fighting chance is making the game FREE.
It makes the most sense, dammit. Make the game accessible to everyone and try making money through skins, battle passes, or some sort of packs. Personally, I think there is no other way around it.
With so many decent free options out there, you simply can’t expect to make any money by charging for the game of this genre. That could have worked back in 2017 but not today. If that was a thing when they started development, they should have noticed that things have changed way sooner.
Final words
Whatever the future has in store for Concord, I hope they bounce back. Mainly because so many people invested so much time in it and I would hate to see it go to waste and people’s livelihoods are at stake here. All I can do is wish them luck.
