Former 'Concord' Players Not Happy With 'Marvel Rivals' Success: "Why Did Concord Have To Die And Marvel Rivals Gets To Live?"

A number of alleged former Concord players are not happy with the success of Marvel Rivals.

As originally discovered by YouTuber HeroHei, on the ConcordGame subreddit, a question was asked whether or not Concord fans have tried Marvel Rivals and what their first impressions were.

The top ranked response currently reads, “It plays nothing like Concord. I personally don't like the movement or shooting at all and don't get all the hype and praise its getting. If you want similar gameplay to Concord Destiny 2 is your best bet but the PvP in that game is basically unplayable unfortunately but the PvE is still good.”

Another replied, “I feel like the majority of the hype/praise it's getting is just because it's one of the first good online marvel games to come out in this entire period of MCU box office domination (which is waning) and a lot of people who are unhappy with Overwatch trying to signal boost a competitor. The game itself feels pretty damn unpolished and unbalanced compared to OW (and even concord)”

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Another individual replied, “Why did Concord have to die and Marvel rivals gets to live? It’s not as fun as concord by a long shot! I hate this timeline!”

Desfert then explained why Concord likely would have failed even if it was free-to-play, “Yeah, let's say then it was free to play. Now tell me the difference how how much longer it would last. Game even on free beta hit 2k and keep drop players already on that time. Did basically present the same issues from beta and it did died a few weeks later.

“Doesn't make a single difference paint a ship with other colour, if you don't fix the holes it will sink anyway. Again, marvel rivals have its own factor, did understood well what made OW 1 successful, create at least a interesting mechanic for say "it's different", knows what a multiplayer needs and that's why it's succeed, not bc of a price tag which many didn't had and many fail. Seriously people, stop thinking f2p is the answer for everything, it just show how clueless you guys are,” he concluded.

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Nevertheless, Concord fans rolled out the cope. One individual posted, “Concord failed not because of its design, gameplay, price, or quality as a game, but because it became a target in a culture war. From the moment it was announced, discussions about the game were dominated by negativity. Critics labeled it as "dead on arrival," "woke," or "trash" before there was even a beta or gameplay footage. This constant negativity overshadowed the game itself.

“Despite being fun for those who actually played it, few people gave it a fair chance. The backlash was so intense that even liking the game invited ridicule. In the end, more people criticized Concord than actually experienced it, which made it impossible for the game to succeed,” the user added.

In a follow-up the user added, “There was no chance for hype and little promotion before Concord launched, and today, content creation is the best form of marketing. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are now the primary ways gamers discover new titles, far outpacing traditional ads or reviews. Games like Among Us and Fall Guys succeeded thanks to creators, not billboards. The problem with Concord was that most of the content created around it was negative, and in a time when word of mouth and influencer endorsements are key, that negativity had a huge impact on its failure. Edit: Most of the content about Concord is rooted in culture war topics.”

The user continued, “The fact that most of the conversation about Concord shifted to a culture war is more a reflection of the discourse surrounding it than the game itself. Gameplay can only be fully understood by trying it, sure, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have potential. Many games with innovative mechanics have had slow starts or been misunderstood initially. Among us was around for over a year before it took off thanks to content creator.”

“As for mystery and innovation, Concord was trying to do something different with its setting and characters, but it never got the chance to show what it could truly bring to the table. The negativity and noise drowned out any meaningful discussion before people even gave it a shot,” he continued. “It’s easy to dismiss something as lacking when it wasn’t given a fair chance to demonstrate its strengths. The real question is: was it genuinely unoriginal, or was it overshadowed by bad-faith arguments and premature judgment? Nobody tried it, but everyone had something to say.”

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The user also shared a big dose of cope when it came to the game’s character designs.

He wrote, “I'm going to sound like a broken record responding to you three times now, but here we go... Saying ‘maybe it looks ugly’ doesn’t matter because looks alone don’t make or break a game. Plenty of hit games, like Minecraft, aren’t "pretty" but succeed because of great gameplay and ideas.”

“In Concord’s case, the characters being ‘ugly’ is subjective—especially since many were aliens. Focusing on looks ignores what really matters: gameplay and the overall experience. Concord didn’t fail because of its design; it failed because negativity overshadowed its potential,” he added.

Sony and Firewalk Studios shut down Concord less than two weeks after the game went on-sale after it failed to even hit a peak concurrent player count of 700. The game only managed a peak concurrent of just 697.

Less than two months after the game was shut down, Sony announced it was closing Firewalk Studios.

PlayStation Studios Head Herman Hulst stated, “Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (An Important Update on Concord), certain aspects of Concord were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline. We have spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options. After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio.  I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.”

Meanwhile, Marvel Rivals hit a peak concurrent player count of 480,990 on its first Sunday after being released in early December. The game has maintained a solid player base for its first month with the most recent 24-hour peak coming in at 415,651 concurrent players.

What do you make of these Concord players being unhappy about Marvel Rivals success and how they are coping about Concord’s failure?

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