A team of dedicated fans has brought the shutdown hero shooter Concord back to life through reverse engineering and custom servers. They've shared gameplay videos demonstrating a full match, though the project remains buggy and in development. This effort highlights ongoing concerns about game preservation after Sony canceled the title in 2024.
Background on Concord
Concord, a live-service hero shooter developed by Firewalk Studios, launched on PlayStation 5 and PC in 2024 but failed to attract players, debuting with only 25,000 concurrent users. Sony shut down the servers just weeks after release and closed the studio, turning the game into a cautionary tale of live-service pitfalls. Sony Interactive Entertainment executive Hermen Hulst later cited a lack of oversight as a key factor in its failure. The game's fate even sparked discussions in the UK's House of Commons on video game preservation, including the Stop Killing Games movement, though no laws were proposed.
The Fan Revival
Undeterred by the official shutdown, a trio of fans—Red, open_wizard, and gwog—has partially resurrected Concord. Through reverse engineering the game's code and rebuilding its backend API, they've created custom servers that allow the game to run. As reported by The Game Post, the team successfully loaded the game, selected characters, and completed a Clash Point match.
Red shared two gameplay videos on Discord to showcase the progress. "The project is still WIP, it's playable, but buggy," Red wrote. "Once our servers are fully set up, we'll begin doing some private playtesting."
The effort underscores the passion of Concord's small but dedicated fanbase, ensuring the game remains accessible despite Sony's decision to delist it. While not yet open to the public, the modders are planning private tests and invite interested players to join, specifying their region and time zone.
This revival arrives amid broader industry reflections on live-service models and the ethics of shutting down games, offering a glimmer of hope for preserving digital experiences.