Concord is a Massive Misstep for PlayStation as Player Count is Non-Existent

‘Concord’, the latest hero shooter published by PlayStation, has failed to gather any notable player base at all just over a week after release. As of the time of writing, the game is currently sitting at a player count of 86 on Steam- with the release day for the game achieving less than 700 players. To put that into perspective, the disastrous signle player ‘Gollum’ game that released last year still managed to have a concurrent player count of 750.

Of course, this player count number doesn’t take into account players on PlayStation consoles but, considering that the free open beta garnered a very flaccid reception, things aren’t looking great across on any platform. On top of this, industry analysts estimate that the game has likely sold around 25,000 units worldwide (thanks to IGN). This places Concord in the position of being a complete flop. Although reviews aren’t completely scalding (with it sitting at a mixed 67% rating on Steam), there’s very little reason to pick up the latest in a line of disappointing hero shooters.

Image by Firewalk Studios

Compared to its contemporaries, however, Concord has flopped harder than most. The main issue doesn’t seem to be with the game being horrifically bad but, instead, the problems lie in its price point, advertising and, yes, hero shooter fatigue. £34.99 for a multiplayer online game isn’t a terrible deal but when most other games in its genre are free to play or cost next to nothing nowadays, its a high asking point for potential players. This is especially true when additional updates and content drops aren’t guaranteed (moreso in this case where there is an almost non-existent player base).

Image by Firewalk Studios

When you think of other popular hero shooters, they each have a unique spin that makes players want to actually try them out. Overwatch 2 has its solid lore, Apex Legends has its battle royale format and Valorant brings elements of Counter-Strike into the genre. Concord, unfortunately, has very little in the way of unique elements. With minimal marketing push, this caused Concord to fall under the radar of most who may be interested in it.

Pair this with the oversaturation of the market with many live service offerings failing so quickly, there’s little incentive to get in on the ground floor for many games like this. Unfortunately, even if Concord was to go free to play in response to the low numbers now, its unlikely to see a huge player increase without some pivotal changes to the game. For now, however, the game unfortunately remains as another failed live service offering.