Sony finally pulled back the curtain to reveal what Concord is actually about. It’s giving Guardians of the Galaxy vibes mixed with a traditional competitive shooter. The PvP FPS was first teased a year ago and will be coming to PlayStation 5 and PC later this year on August 23.
First we got a look at a cinematic trailer showing off a crew of bickering “Freegunner” mercenaries eating lunch at a space diner before getting ambushed. A woman in the group cast magic while a robot used a vacuum gun and grenade to take out the enemies, hinting at class-based combat. They then regrouped aboard their ship to plot their next job.
Here’s that trailer:
What followed next was hero-shooter gameplay across familiar looking 5v5 arenas. The game will feature 16 different Freegunners with various playstyles that merge the improvisation of a fighting game with the preparation and planning of a strategy game. Some will have exploding knives. Others will summon protective domes. Nothing in the trailer made Concord necessarily standout from the plethora of other shooters competing in that space at the moment, but the proof will be in how the game feels to play and progress in.
The roster will grow over time, and Firewalk is promising regular free post-launch updates to add new characters, maps, modes, cinematic vignettes, and other additions. As for what the larger story is surrounding the Freegunners and their home in the Concord galaxy, the studio isn’t tipping its hand yet. Players will apparently learn more on a weekly basis as new cinematics build at the world and its lore. A beta will go live this summer for those pre-order.
Firewalk Studios’ debut game was announced at Sony’s May 2023 showcase with just a brief cutscene of some burgers cooking on a spaceship as it traveled the cosmos. The camera panned across a sniper rifle on a table and some clothes in a storage locker, with a rainbow of light shimmering across the grungy mental surface of the ship as it flew through hyperspace. It seemed vaguely retro-futurist, hinting at a colorful optimism more in line with Overwatch than Call of Duty.
“Concord is a bringing together of peoples,” game director Ryan Ellis wrote at the time. “It’s the power of games to build connection and inspire social play. The Firewalk team is driven by the type of exciting, unexpected moments and shared experiences that multiplayer games create. Every time you log on is the beginning of a new adventure and every match is an opportunity for a new story. It’s these ideals that define Concord, its unique universe of vibrant worlds, and its rich cast of colorful characters.”
Sony had acquired Firewalk just a month earlier, which was previously part of ProbablyMonsters, a company helmed by former Bungie veterans (Ellis himself was previously a creative director on Destiny, which Sony now also owns). At the time, the team working on Concord was around 150, making it smaller than Sony’s AAA studios but bigger than Arrowhead, maker of the recent multiplayer hit Helldivers 2.
“Firewalk’s innovative approach to connected storytelling and its commitment to high-quality gameplay continues to exceed our expectations,” PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst said after the acquistion. “I think fans will be very pleased when they see what Firewalk has in store for them.”