Concord is the latest 5v5 character-driven multiplayer shooter set in the Concord Galaxy with Guardians of the Galaxy-esque characters. The game is set to release on PS5 and PC on 23rd August 2024. The game is developed by Firewalk Studios, a company founded by veterans of companies like Bungie and Activision with plenty of experience in the genre.
Concord is set to be a PS Plus game, which means you will need a PS Plus subscription to play it, due to the game’s need for online services and constant internet connection. On PC however, you will need to make an account on the PlayStation network just like with Ghost of Tsushima.
The game was first showcased in The PlayStation State of Play May 2024 event, where the world and characters were initially introduced to a larger audience.
Concord’s battle to stand out
Concord will launch with 16 characters from a guns-for-hire group known as the Freegunners, and a crew who hang out on a ship named the Northstar. You’ll fight other Freegunner groups and fight it out over various modes and maps.
A 5v5 multiplier shooter game is not unheard of and most of them are free to play, with the likes of Overwatch and Valorant already doing well in the market, it becomes challenging to make a place for new multiplayer shooter games.
PlayStation released the gameplay and cinematic trailer on 31st May 2024, which opened up to a mixed response from people. One user wrote –
Those cinematics are out of this world! 😱
Looking forward to seeing more details and getting to try out the beta soon 🔥🔥🔥— TakeshiChan (@TakeshiBjorn) May 30, 2024
But some people had more strong opinions about the release of a new 5V5 multiplayer shooter game as pointed out by this user –
Looked good until it said 5v5 not interested at all. Enough multiplayer Games as services… where is single player at.
— J.Gonzalez (@joshg661995) May 30, 2024
No doubt the market for 5v5 multiplayer games is a lot but having to pay for it creates problems as there are a lot of other good titles available for absolutely free of cost. To strike the final blow to the game’s hype and successful future, its competitor, Netease announced Marvel Rivals simultaneously for PS5, absolutely free.
Concord’s only ray of hope is Helldivers 2 success story
Sony has spent a lot of time and resources on making Concord, and it looks great. Sony is set to release a beta version of the game in July, exact dates are yet to be announced, that will give a taste of the game to the players and introduce them to the characters and universe of Concord Galaxy, which looks pretty interesting.
Ahead of the launch of gameplay and cinematic trailer, Ryan Ellis said –
We built Concord as a love-letter to aspirational sci-fi adventure, inspired by our favorite art, anime, films, and TV series. Combined with our deep love of multiplayer, we’re dedicated to creating those had-to-be-there, down to the wire moments with your friends and creating a sense of adventure as you discover more about the galaxy, the characters you play as, and the worlds you visit every time you log on.
Concord offers an immersive experience against the backdrop of a unique setting. The characters are interesting and have a backstory attached to them. Concord’s success will lie in its post-launch services and they are taking full measures to ensure that, as mentioned by Ellis –
The Concord galaxy is full of danger and adventure, and we’ll be unwrapping more in the coming weeks and months.
At launch, Concord will have a roster of 16 distinct Freegunners to learn and master, and the Northstar crew will grow over time through regular, free post-launch updates that introduce new playable Freegunners, maps, modes, cinematic vignettes, and more.
Helldivers 2 received the same criticism as Concord during the anticipation of its release, but it has turned out to be one of the best games released this year, despite it being paid. Concord can hope for the same result. Sony has played high stakes this time, Concord looks like it has a huge budget and all it can hope for is a positive response in the future.
