Pre-release build of PS5’s axed game Concord leaked
Sony released the game last year then delisted it after two weeks
A development build of Sony Interactive Studios and Firewalk Studios’ ill-fated Concord has been leaked online.
The build, which is named FWChaos, was uploaded over the weekend and claims to be a build dated November 14, 2023.
If this date is accurate, it means the build was compiled nine months before the game’s launch in August 2024.
VGC has downloaded the build and can confirm it appears to be authentic.
Loading the game displays a login screen that can’t be bypassed. However, the build’s uploader has also included an .ini file, which enables a developer menu. When this is applied, the game loads directly to a Select Freegunner screen.
From here, it appears the player can go no further, because no Freegunners appear on the screen, meaning nobody can be selected. It is at least possible, however, to enter a pause screen and from there access the Main Menu, where numerous menus can be viewed.
This includes a partially completed Galactic Guide, which provides information on the galaxy’s various planets, and a Crew section, where information on the game’s 16 playable characters and their variant outfits can be found.
It also includes a Job Board (which just has placeholder text) and a Store option, which doesn’t do anything, as well as a Settings menu containing developer options such as Developer Matchmaking and a style guide for the game’s various fonts.
Given the game’s online requirement, however, it doesn’t currently seem that it’s possible to get beyond these screens or choose a Freegunner to play the game, meaning that unless enthusiasts find a way to get the build running a proper game, these unfinished menus are all the build provides.
Just two weeks after it was released last August, Sony announced plans to take Concord offline, pull the game from sale, and offer refunds to all players who bought it, citing a poor reception from players.
At the time, Sony said it would explore the possibility of bringing the game back in a revised form. However, a month later, PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst confirmed the company had decided not to move forward with the title.
The game’s developer Firewalk Studios was subsequently closed, with Hulst saying Sony would “work to find placement for some of those impacted within our global community of studios where possible”.
Firewalk was founded in 2018 and was acquired by Sony in 2023. Concord, its debut game, was reportedly in development for around eight years. The title received “mixed or average” reviews, with its Metacritic score sitting on 62 for PS5 and 65 for PC. According to reports, the PS5 and PC game may have sold as few as 25,000 copies.
