Concord Delta modders bring back Sony’s canceled $200M shooter before DMCA takedowns throw sand in the gears
It’s been over a year since Sony pulled the plug on Firewalk’s Concord, which reportedly cost more than $200 million to develop. After sparse player engagement, the project shut down on September 6, 2024. However, a small team of modders has since revived Concord.
Reported by The Game Post, a team of modders, including developers Red, open_wizard, and gwog, formed a grassroots project called Concord Delta. The team spent months reverse-engineering the backend API to create custom PC servers, allowing matchmaking and matches, despite bugs. The project launched on November 14, and the team published YouTube videos showcasing test footage.
However, Concord’s comeback was short-lived, as Sony’s copyright-enforcement partner, MarkScan, a digital asset protection firm, sent a DMCA takedown notice to YouTube for videos featuring Concord Delta’s gameplay.
In response, one of the lead modders, Red, took Concord Delta’s Discord server and announced, “Due to worrying legal action, we’ve decided to pause invites for the time being.” Players who’ve already gained access can play on Concord Delta’s servers. For the time being, Sony hasn’t sent a direct cease-and-desist to the Concord Delta modding team.
Earlier on, Red warned the community about legal problems and stated:
The project is still WIP. It’s playable, but buggy. I know this sucks for people who got forcefully refunded, but lawyers are most likely already watching everything we do, and I want to ensure this project stays as legal as we realistically can. We will be removing any posts containing links to copyrighted files.
Many online gamers argue that Sony is trying to hinder efforts to preserve Concord, despite having shut down official servers long ago. Others claim Sony is trying to bury Concord’s memory and take it back to the grave. Concord was also mentioned in the UK Parliament, where it was cited as an example of games being shut down without a clear lifespan at the point of sale.
For now, game servers remain operational for invite-holders via the Discord channel. However, Concord Delta’s future remains dim without Sony’s approval. The question remains how far Sony will go in shuttering the fan project aimed at reviving the short-lived live-service shooter. Sony's repeated attempts to capture the games-as-a-service market, which has seen significant investments since its success with Helldivers 2 on multiple platforms.
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