A year after the first teaser, the PS5 Concord exclusive finally had a proper presentation. But the reception from players was terribly cold.
Despite the fairly convincing gameplay and an interesting artistic direction, Concord obviously did not generate consensus among players. The fault lies in a game service orientation in particular. Especially because some still unknown elements worry about the future of the game, since it is due to be released on PC and PS5 in a few months.
PS5 Concord exclusive already plagued by discord?
Concord got plenty of airtime during last night’s State of Play. The PS5 exclusive got the ball rolling with a cinematic trailer and a gameplay trailer. We also learned that it will be tested during a beta period in July, with a planned release on PC and PS5 on August 21. Unfortunately, the Sony-published and Firewalk-developed hero shooter seems to have put a damper on players.
The gameplay trailer, in fact, shows a particularly sharp ratio of likes and dislikes. Only 18% of viewers said they liked what they saw. In the opposite case, ASTRO BOT received 99% thumbs up. Players thus showed a certain disinterest in Concord. Whether it’s the artistic direction à la Guardians of the Galaxy, the hero shooter aspect or the game service component, negative opinions on this topic are divided.
An economic plan that failed before it could even be implemented?
Another point that confuses players about Concord: its economic model. Sony did not immediately reveal whether it will be free or paid. However, it seems that to play on the PS5 it will be necessary to have a PS Plus account. This suggests that you will have to buy the game a priori at a relatively low price, as was the case with Helldivers 2. However, the hero shooter market is starting to get very busy, with Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals coming soon in particular. These two titles also have one thing in common: a free entry ticket.
Therefore, the combination of a cold response from gamers and a potential commitment to buy it to try it out could see Concord experience a launch well below Sony and Firewalk’s expectations. Such a fate would be all the sadder as the title obviously has a very big budget. Let’s hope for his sake that this new big exclusive ultimately succeeds, otherwise the studio’s future could quickly become very bleak.
