Concord Collapse: Inside PlayStation’s Biggest Modern Failure

Have you ever pondered how a corporation with PlayStation's background, expertise, and experience could approve of Concord? The unease with which we are presented with the Hiroki Totoki narrative begins at that point. Here we will begin. Concord was more than a close call.

It went live and then went dark in a matter of weeks. Completed: refunds; studio closed. Unless anything went terribly wrong prior to publication, it will not occur. And Totoki essentially conceded as much. Following the fall, he emerged and claimed the procedure was flawed. Inadequate testing. Inadequate assessment at the outset.

Groups were too divided. No one intervened quickly enough to declare, "This isn't it."

The situation becomes more complicated now. Concord wasn't seen as a side project internally. It was being marketed as PlayStation's next big thing. Give that some consideration. The company was banking on a live service hero shooter, which is one of the most oversaturated game genres, to be its next big hit.

Multiple reports and leaks have indicated that the highest levels of PlayStation leadership were in favor of this endeavor. Many people are pointing the finger at Hermen Hulst. According to rumors and insider information, he had strong faith in Concord and envisioned it as a huge franchise play with the potential to branch out into other media formats similar to Star Wars intellectual property.

On top of that, word gets around the company about toxic optimism, which makes it impossible to bring up any issues with the game. There is no reality check or negative feedback loop. After years of development, hundreds of millions of dollars, and an absurd circumstance, you finally have a product that hardly anyone wants to play. The $400 million figure itself is a constant mover.

To be fair, many people disagree with that number. There are journalists who think it's inflated. However, let us explain. Any amount between $200 million and $400 million would have achieved the same result. A major failure in the history of video games.

Look away now. What follows immediately? Concord disappears, Firewalk is shut down, and new leadership takes over. Everything begins to tighten up under new leadership after Hermen Hulst is removed as co-CEO.