Hundreds of millions of dollars may be spent on developing a game over more than ten years. Recent reports indicate that the eight-year development cycle of the unsuccessful hero shooter Concord cost over $400 million.
Concord was a 5v5 hero shooter created by Firewalk Studios, a PlayStation subsidiary based in Washington, and was released on August 23, 2024, for the PS5 and PC. The game had a very low player count at launch, indicating serious problems, despite receiving some positive feedback during its beta a month earlier. On September 3, a mere seven and a half days later, Firewalk Studios announced that Concord would cease operations on September 6. Furthermore, it was highlighted that the game’s minimal sales of roughly 25,000 copies left the developers extremely disappointed. Even a 22-year-old game surpassed Concord in sales. According to new GSD digital figures released by Gamesindustry.biz, the beloved PS2 games TimeSplitters 2 (2002) and its 2005 follow-up, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, outperformed Concord in digital sales in the UK during August.
Colin Moriarty, a former IGN employee and current host of the Sacred Symbols podcast, claims to have validated information he received from someone who worked on Concord. While it was unclear whether this individual was a developer, Moriarty obtained insights regarding the game’s unsatisfactory launch.
Noting that the game entered Alpha in the first quarter of 2023, Moriarty stated that by the time it reached that phase, about $200 million had already been spent. A significant portion of these costs was related to outsourcing the development to other studios to ensure the game was completed.
Moreover, he mentioned that the game was internally described as “the future of PlayStation.” According to Moriarty, it was referred to as a “Star Wars-like” project for Sony due to its ambitious goals, to be revisited repeatedly. He pointed out that this created a culture of “toxic positivity,” where employees were discouraged from discussing issues related to the game’s characters, gameplay, or other elements, and any unfavorable comments were met with disdain.
It’s important to note that this new information is based on a single source, although it is undoubtedly eye-opening. Gamers may be cautious about the announcement, believing that the developers maintain a strong policy of protecting their employees’ voices.
Ryan Ellis, the game director of Concord, informed the Firewalk Studios staff that he would be transitioning to a “support role,” as reported by Kotaku. Could this indicate that the game is facing some dire news? Ellis previously served as creative director for Destiny 2, a popular free-to-play first-person shooter developed by Bungie and released in 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.