If there is any one game that perfectly encapsulates everything wrong that’s going on with the gaming industry during the last year or so, it’s Concord. The irony of us saying that is the game isn’t actually a game anymore, as it was shut down after just 11 days and then its studio was shuttered not long after. The game was doomed from the start, even though Sony didn’t see it that way and spent eight years and reported $400 million trying to make it shine. They were so convinced that it would be great that they also helped create an episode for the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series “Secret Level,” featuring numerous video game franchises in all-new stories.
The animated series creator, Tim Miller, talked about the doomed games’ episode in a chat with Rolling Stone. In his mind, the team at Firewalk Studios was great, and he truly doesn’t understand why the game failed:
“There was no nicer, more invested group of developers than the team on Concord. I honestly don’t understand why it didn’t work. I know that they were trying to do the best they could, and they were a talented group of artists, so I feel terrible for that.”
He noted that the episode was never considered for removal since it’s “not around anymore.” In fact, Miller hopes that this episode could “shine a light” on what the story would’ve been like if it had been given more time:
“I don’t feel bad that it’s a part of the show. Because I think it’s an episode that turned out really well, and you can kind of see the potential of this world and the characters. If it’s the remaining vestige of that product, I hope the developers feel that it’s in some way worthy, just a little bit, of the blood, sweat, and tears they put into it.”
While Tim Miller isn’t sure why Concord failed, gamers absolutely know why it failed. First, it was a live-service title, which is an incredibly volatile part of the market, despite what developers and publishers think. Second, it was a team shooter. That’s bad because that particular genre was already FLOODED with games of that nature, including one from Marvel Comics that was announced around the same time.
Finally, as proven when it was launched, it was just an average game. Even with its “story elements” that “would’ve kept players invested long-term,” there was no reason to be invested in the short-term. That was the main reason why it failed in just 11 days.
You can see it on the Amazon show on December 10th, though.
