Summary
An employee working on Gearbox’s upcoming gameBorderlands 4shared some sage advice forConcorddevelopers, urging the team to back up their work before it’s too late. This advice comes as Sony confirmed it would be pulling the plug onConcordtwo weeks after the game’s release due to lukewarm reception and shockingly low sales, leading to one of the biggest fumbles the video game industry has seen in recent memory.
Despite the sudden news regardingConcord’s death, the game’s story is quite a lengthy one, with the FPS reportedly being developed for eight years.Concordwas poised to be Sony’s foray into the crowded hero-shooter genre, featuring a wide cast of characters, a colorful art style, and dozens of tide-turning abilities. However,Concordquickly faced trouble, with the game launching to dismal sales and incredibly low player counts.Concordfailed to gain momentum in the leadup to its release, though the game’s actual launch was unexpectedly catastrophic, with Sony confirming it would be delisting the game less than two weeks later. With thenews ofConcord’s demise going public, a team lead working on the nextBorderlandsgame has shared some useful advice.
The failure ofConcordpromptedBorderlands 4’s narrative director, Sam Winkler, to offer some advice they learned the hard way back when Gearbox’sBattlebornwas shut down. “Anyone who worked onConcord(or any live service game) - get your work captured ASAP,” Winkler said in aTweet. “For a long time, I didn’t have capture of my work onBattleborn- my first shipped content ever! - and I regretted not getting it while I could. Only got it eventually thanks to a fan mod.” Similar toConcord,Battlebornwas practically dead on arrival, launching with middling reviews and a low player base. Both games attempted to carve out their own pockets of the crowded hero-shooter genre and failed to do so, thoughConcord’s demise came much quicker.
Borderlands Developer Shares Advice for Concord Team
Battlebornsought to mix the silliness of theBorderlandsfranchisewith a blend of hero-shooter and MOBA elements. The game faced many issues at launch, but its biggest hardship came with its close release to Blizzard’s now-iconicOverwatch, which was also a bright and colorful hero-shooter.Battlebornwas released in 2016 and delisted in 2019, with the game’s online functionality ending permanently in 2021. TheConcordteam only has until September 6 to save any data from the game.
It’s anyone’s guess as to what’s next for Sony’s hero-shooter, though there are rumblings thatConcordwill turn free-to-play eventually. The few players still left aregetting some enjoyment out ofConcordin the lead-up to the game’s shutdown. However, the hero-shooter/MOBA genre is set to become more crowded soon, with Valve gearing up to enter the scene withDeadlock, a brand-new IP from the legendary video game studio.Deadlocklikely caused trouble forConcordas well, though Valve’s new game is currently only playable as a beta.
Concord
WHERE TO PLAY
Assemble your crew of Freegunner space outlaws and team up online with friends for thrilling 5v5 PVP modes across the galaxy in Concord.Concord is a new team-based first-person shooter for PS5® and PC*. Handpick your personal roster of Freegunners from the crew of the Northstar – a group of outlaws and adventurers working as guns-for-hire.ASSEMBLE YOUR CREWFrom powerful mystics to skilled gunslingers and helpful healers, each Freegunner brings their own unique skills, personality, and abilities that cater to a wide-range of playstyles.Create your own custom squads of Freegunners with Crew Builder to bring an arsenal of different role types to the match or focus on your favourite characters to master their gameplay and unlock unique modifiers, cosmetics, background lore, and more – you decide when to play your characters and how you impact the match.PLAY. PROGRESS. PERSONALIZE.Earn and unlock a wide range of character customization items and learn more about the characters, worlds, and factions in the Concord Galaxy with the Galactic Guide.You’ll also be able to progress toward and unlock Freegunner Variants—versions of each of the 16 Freegunners with added Combat Trait modifiers to their base abilities. As you learn and master the characters, Combat Traits empower you to tailor each character to your playstyle.
