By now, I’m sure we’ve all heard the news about Concord: Firewalk’s poorly made multiplayer title was launched into a very unfavorable market with little promise, and it sold so poorly that PlayStation and Firewalk pulled it from stores and essentially stopped selling it until further notice, while refunding all digital purchases of the game on consoles and PC (though it seems that physical copies of the game are still around, but not necessarily in the hands of good people).
This is a sad ending to the development and launch story of Concord. Firewalk was a young studio and Concord was their debut title. PlayStation partnered with the studio to back the project in 2021 and acquired Firewalk in 2023. And at this point in time, they have shown enthusiasm for the project. Firewalk’s vision for a new multiplayer IP, which originally started as a baby gestating with Probably Monsters, looked very healthy. Tony Hsu said At the time of the PlayStation backing partnership, it said, “These surprising and unpredictable moments in gaming are the sparks that fly when playing with others, leaving future memories ready to be replayed and retold.” Fuck It makes me sad to read it now.
The worst part of this story is that it was probably a tragedy that was avoidable. Sure, it’s hard to imagine them reinventing the wheel as a live-service multiplayer title given the team’s obvious enthusiasm for the genre, but there were other ways to make it more acceptable. Concord didn’t need to launch with so many drawbacks: the release date, the high price, and the aloof and extremely short marketing campaign. Part of me wonders how we would have responded to Concord if Sony hadn’t partnered with Firewalk… which unfortunately begs the question of whether the game would have been released in the first place.
In personal news, I just got back from a preview event and played a few hours of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I can’t talk about the game yet, so instead Tired It’s hard to sit down and play games for long periods of time, so this weekend I’m in the mood for some quick, easy-to-pick-up gameplay experiences. Vampire Therapist has been waiting for my attention on my Steam shelf, and both Emio Smileman Famicom Detective Club and Ace Attorney Collection would satisfy my craving right now. But if I could get my hands on Astro Bot, it would fit the bill too.
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What we’re playing this week
what’s new:
- Astro Bot
- NBA 2K25
- Harry Potter: Quidditch Champion
- Ace Attorney Investigation Collection
- Casting by Frank Stone
- The Age of Myth: Retelling
- Showdown of the Generals
- Star Tracker
- Paper Ghost Stories: Opening the Third Eye
New features for the subscription service:
- Expeditions: MudRunner Game (Xbox Game Pass)
- MLB The Show 24 (PlayStation Plus)
- Little Nightmares II (PlayStation Plus)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition (Prime Gaming)
- Borderlands 2 (Prime Gaming)
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (Prime Gaming)
- GreedFall: Gold Edition (Prime Gaming)
- Whispered Secrets: The Ever-Burning Candle Collector’s Edition (Prime Gaming)
- Minabo — Walking Through Life (Prime Gaming)
- Eternights (Prime Gaming)
- LEGO: Indiana Jones Original Adventures (Prime Gaming)
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (Prime Gaming)
- Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts (GeForce Now)
- Crime Scene Cleaner (GeForce Now)
- Crimes of the Solar Empire II (GeForce Now)
- NFL RetroBowl 25 (Apple Arcade)
- Monster Train+ (Apple Arcade)
- Puzzle Sculpt (Apple Arcade)
