Sony loses $100M after pulling DEI shooter game Concord just weeks after launch
Sony Interactive Entertainment embarrassingly shut down its new adventure shooting game Concord just 14 days into its release despite a reported eight years of production.
One month before its August 23, 2024, release, Concord, which Blaze News reported on, was officially canceled by Sony just two weeks after its debut on PC and PlayStation 5.
Sony said in a blog post that certain “aspects of the game” didn’t “land the way [they were] intended” and that Concord would be pulled from the shelves immediately. The publisher is also offering refunds to all customers.
Despite pulling the plug and offering reimbursement, Sony said it is still determining the “best path ahead” for the game. However, Concord’s return seems highly implausible at this time. If the game was going to be patched or significantly changed, the studio would likely only issue a partial refund or none at all.
‘We, the gaming community, don’t want DEI bulls**t in our games!’
The diversity-driven product appeared to be doomed from the start; early images showed morbidly obese character models who had their pronouns displayed on-screen.
As That Park Place reported, one of the characters was an obese woman named Emari with “she/her” pronouns. Another character named Lark had “undecided” in the location where the other characters’ pronouns were displayed.
“I mean, even the robot has pronouns,” gamer Kabrutus, owner of DEI Detected, said in a review. The writer showed off an image of a robot in the game that had “he/him” pronouns on the character select screen.
After the cancellation, the writer encouraged gamers to “keep the pressure” on game studios that encourage the diversity, equity, and inclusion mantra.
“Let’s make sure that they’ll ALWAYS be aware that we, the gaming community, DON’T WANT DEI BULLS**T IN OUR GAMES!” he added.
Concord was developed over eight years by Firewalk Studios, which operates out of Washington state. Sony acquired the studio in 2023.
Sony and Firewalk never publicly released figures regarding the development costs of Concord, but as CNET reported, estimates have ranged from $100-$200 million based off budgets Sony has given to its previous first-party games.
Sony has an official commitment to DEI on its Sony Interactive website. It features at least nine internal employee diversity groups at the company. These include groups surrounding “Pride,” “Representation,” and “well being.”
There are also ideological camps for veterans, women, and black employees.
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