After the success of Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, Firewalk Studios’ Concord is the next live-service bid from PlayStation. It’s hitting all the right notes – free post-launch content, cosmetic-only microtransactions and a price tag of $39.99. There’s even an in-game Galactic Guide to help keep track of the lore.
However, there’s the spectre of a mandatory PlayStation Network account on PC, which caused extensive controversy for Helldivers 2 on Steam before Sony backtracked. Though Ghost of Tsushima’s single-player campaign doesn’t require the same, the publisher has since mandated a PSN account for upcoming PC releases like God of War Ragnarok and Ballistic Moon’s Until Dawn.
It’s seemingly a given then for Concord with its online multiplayer focus. Speaking to Eurogamer, Firewalk’s director of IP Kim Kreines said the implementation “allows us to have cross-play, that cross-progression, that’s an important piece of it.” Lead character designer Jon Weisnewski added, “The goal is for players to come together.
“And so for us to have PC players and PlayStation 5 players together, for that cross-play and cross-progression to work, that’s a layer that needs to be there – just on a technical level. So the goal is we want to get players together, to have fun and play together. This is part of that experience.”
Concord launches on August 23rd for PC and PS5, with an open beta on July 18th. Pre-orders can play it on July 12th – head here for more details. Stay tuned for further updates in the coming weeks.
