Summary
- Concord, a new live-service shooter from Firewalk Studios, will release on August 23 for PS5 and PC, with preorders starting on June 6.
- The game features a cast of 16 unique Freegunners, each with distinct abilities, aiming to cater to a wide range of player skill levels.
- Despite similarities to other hero shooters, Firewalk aims to offer a solid multiplayer experience with weekly in-universe lore updates.
PlayStation has officially revealed full gameplay of Firewalk Studios' Concord, which is slated for release on August 23. The PlayStation first-party live-service shooter was first announced over a year ago by way of a CGI trailer, and the latest State of Play now gives players an idea of what to expect from Concord with a plethora of new information.
Firewalk Studios is a relatively new team that announced its partnership with PlayStation for a new AAA multiplayer game back in 2021. Comprised of developers that worked on franchises like Destiny and Bioshock, the studio's project was apparently impressive enough that PlayStation outright acquired Firewalk Studios, and shortly after, formally announced Concord at its 2023 Showcase. However, the short CGI trailer didn't give players enough of an idea about the game, and with PlayStation recently reiterating that Concord is slated for a 2024 release, a proper gameplay trailer was needed to show off the title.
PlayStation's latest May State of Play brought exactly that and much more, as Concord kicked off the show with two trailers. The first trailer (CGI) was an introduction to the main cast of "Freegunner" mercenaries, who strongly echoed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, especially with their humor and the game's colorful presentation. The game will be set in the Concord galaxy, which the studio claims is a "love-letter to aspirational sci-fi adventure," and will receive weekly cinematic vignettes upon boot-up that further the in-universe lore, which could make for an interesting narrative exploration.
Firewalk Finally Shows Off Concord's Gameplay and Roster
Concord is a 5v5 "character-driven" first-person shooter whose gameplay isn't the first to look a lot like Overwatch. Firewalk states that while the "core gunplay will feel familiar to shooter fans," each Freegunner's abilities are also essential and will seemingly help "players of a wide range of skill levels and play styles" adapt better to Concord. PlayStation will talk more about Concord next week, but did confirm that the shooter will release on August 23 for PS5 and PC. Preorders will commence on June 6, granting players the Monarch Pack as well as early access to a July beta for up to four extra friends. Firewalk has confirmed 16 Freegunners at launch, with more to be added in free future updates. The trailer showed off five of them, namely:
- Vale
- Lennox
- Haymar
- Star Child
- 1-Off
As PlayStation's second full-fledged live-service effort after the unexpected smash-hit Helldivers 2, the bar is no doubt high for Concord. Many may be quick to dismiss it on account of its similarities to other hero shooters, but Firewalk is clearly endeavoring to offer a solid multiplayer experience, and as long as the gameplay and content updates hold up well, Concord could end up being another surprising success story like Helldivers 2.
PS5
- Brand
- Sony
Sony's PlayStation 5 is part of the ninth console generation and debuted with a launch lineup that included Demon's Souls and Astro's Playroom. The console comes with a Blu-ray disc, although a digital-only edition is also available for a cheaper price.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info- Original Release Date
- November 12, 2020
- Hardware Versions
- PS5
- Original MSRP (USD)
- Disc Edition: $499.99; Digital Edition: $399.99
- Storage
- 825 GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
- Resolution
- Max 8K (4k at 120 Hz playable)
- Ports
- 2x USB-C, 2x USB 3.1, and 1x Ethernet
- Weight
- Disc Edition: 9.9 LBS; Digital Edition: 8.6 LBS
- Dimensions
- 15.4 in × 10.2 in × 4.1 in
- Processor
- AMD Zen 2, 8-core / 16 threads, 3.5GHz