Foamstars' Fate shows why the return of free-to-play Concord would be risky

There's no way around it: Sony Concord is one of the biggest AAA flops of the past few years. The live-action team-based shooter, while generally appreciated from a technical standpoint, gained little to no traction with the gaming audience, sliding deep into obscurity and ultimately being canceled by Sony just two weeks after its launch.

Concord is a fascinating failure, not only because its weaknesses are not among the usual suspects – poor performance, massive in-game spending, excessive errors – but also because of the speed with which it was abandoned. In recent years, one might almost expect the big-budget live service to stumble in its early days and slowly gain renewed interest as new content, bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements creep into the core product. However, this kind of post-launch coding seems to be less and less effective as the years go by, and even more dramatic changes have proven far less successful in changing public opinion about certain titles. A good example of this would be Square Enix Foamstarsand Splatoon a derivative that struggled to gain a strong fan base for its premium price, leading to a shift to a free-to-play model. But that didn't move the needle much, and the same strategy could prove similarly ineffective for Concord.

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Bungie's upcoming revival of the Marathon series is rumored to be problematic, but the game may still avoid the Concorde's fate.

Foamstar's lack of free-to-play success could foreshadow Concord

There is talk of a free-to-play switch for Concord

Fortnite, Warzone, Genshin Impact: three of the most popular and influential games of our time, and all are free to play. Of course, the success of such titles isn't a sign that free-to-play is the way to go for every game, but they represent the power of the low-risk, high-reward dynamic that characterizes the GaaS model. It's naturally a model that many companies want to cash in on, though some publishers are trying to recreate the same addictive gaming loop with live services, while still charging a premium price for the base product, usually along with countless in-game purchases. This can be considered as one of the reasons Foamstars failed.

But even removing that premium price tag didn't help the hapless Square's much Splatoon a clone that suffered from an ever-shrinking playerbase even after gaining attention. There were rumors that Concord could follow Square Enix's lead here and return to the fray as a free-to-play title in an attempt to recoup some of its losses. Assuming this is true, then it could follow Foamstars' legacy in more ways than one, jumping into the free-to-play waters to drown again.

The Concorde's problems go beyond its price

Concord is a game that screams “free-to-play” at first glance, so its $40 price tag may have certainly contributed to its weaknesses, but that's far from the only thing wrong with it. Really, ConcordThe number of players at the bottom can be attributed to a number of factors, but most of them focus on a specific pain point: a lack of soul, identity and charm.

Take the game as Overwatchwho Concord obviously draws a lot of inspiration. Overwatch it's defined by its memorable character designs, storytelling, and variable gameplay, all of which combine to give it a certain oomph. Despite being made by a billion-dollar company, it manages to feel vivacious, bold and seductive – qualities that inevitably corporate Concord is missing

There is also the ever-present problem of market saturation. Competitive live shooters are everywhere, and it's getting harder and harder for new releases to stand out in this space. That's not to mention the GaaS model itself, which is defined by the constant demand for players' time, and time is a fundamental finite resource. The truth is that a lot of players have never felt like Concord it was worth their time, so it's unlikely to return, $0 price or not.

Assemble your crew of Freegunner space outlaws and team up online with friends for thrilling 5v5 PVP modes across the galaxy in Concord.

Concord is a new team-based first-person shooter for PS5® and PC*. Choose your personal roster of Freegunners from the Northstar Crew – a group of outlaws and adventurers working as guns for hire.

BUILD YOUR CREW
From powerful mystics to skilled gunslingers and useful healers, each Freegunner brings their own unique skills, personality and abilities to suit a wide variety of playstyles.

Create your own teams of Freegunners using the Crew Builder to bring an arsenal of different role types to the match, or focus on your favorite characters to master their game and unlock unique modifiers, cosmetics, background lore and more – you decide when you play your game. characters and how you affect the match.

PLAY. PROGRESS. ADAPT.
Earn and unlock a wide variety of character customization items and learn more about the characters, worlds and factions in the Concord galaxy with the Galactic Guide.

You'll also be able to progress towards and unlock Freegunner Variants – versions of each of the 16 Freegunners with combat modifiers added to their base abilities. As you learn and master the characters, combat features allow you to tailor each character to your playstyle.

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