Japan Spent $400 Million on a Game Americans Wouldn't Play

On August 23, 2024, Sony launched Concord — a five-versus-five hero shooter developed by Firewalk Studios over approximately eight years. The initial development deal alone exceeded $200 million. Estimated total Sony spend on the property, including Sony's April 2023 acquisition of Firewalk and the marketing campaign, was closer to $400 million. The game charged $40 per copy in a category — hero shooters — dominated by free-to-play giants: Overwatch 2 (~25M monthly active users), Valorant (~30M), Apex Legends (~70M historical), and Marvel Rivals (launching just four months later). Steam concurrent player count at launch peaked at fewer than 700. On September 3, 2024, game director Ryan Ellis announced on the PlayStation Blog that the servers would be taken offline three days later and that every purchase would be refunded. On September 6, 2024 — 14 days after launch — Concord went offline. On October 29, 2024, Sony announced the closure of Firewalk Studios. 174 employees lost their jobs. Sister studio Neon Koi was also closed, bringing combined layoffs to 210. Total net revenue to Sony from Concord operations: approximately zero. This is the story of the most expensive product in modern entertainment to never exist. —— CHAPTERS 0:00 — September 6, 2024: The Servers Go Offline 0:48 — Firewalk Studios, ProbablyMonsters, and the Sony Acquisition 1:34 — Sony's Live-Service Strategy 2:16 — The Free-to-Play Problem 2:40 — Launch + Concurrent Player Collapse 3:50 — September 3, 2024: Ryan Ellis's Announcement 4:48 — The Studio Closure + Live-Service Retreat 6:30 — Hidden Capital —— THE NUMBERS Initial development deal: $200 million+ Total estimated Sony spend (development + Firewalk acquisition + marketing): $400 million+ Years of development: ~8 Launch date: August 23, 2024 Launch price: $40 Platforms: PlayStation 5 + Steam Steam peak concurrent: under 700 players (vs. Helldivers 2 at 458,000, Marvel Rivals at 444,000) Servers offline: September 6, 2024 Total live operation: 14 days Total net revenue (after refunds): ~$0 Firewalk Studios closed: October 29, 2024 Firewalk employees laid off: 174 Combined Firewalk + Neon Koi layoffs: 210 Sony's 2022 commitment: 12 live-service titles by FY2026 — quietly walked back post-Concord —— New episodes every week. New regions, no soft endings. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. —— SOURCES PlayStation.Blog — "An important update on Concord" (Ryan Ellis, September 3, 2024) Variety — "PlayStation Closes Firewalk Studios After Shutting Down 'Concord' Game" (October 29, 2024) Bloomberg / Push Square / Game World Observer — Concord cost reports ($200M+ initial development deal) TechRadar — "Concord has been in development for 8 years" SteamDB — public concurrent player data Wikipedia — Concord (video game) —— #HiddenCapital #Concord #Sony #PlayStation #FirewalkStudios #VideoGames #LiveService #HeroShooter #GamingFlop #BusinessDocumentary