Sony Silences Fan-Led Concord Revival Project
▼ Summary
– Concord was a major commercial failure despite being a polished and functional game, not necessarily the worst ever made.
– Fans successfully reverse engineered the game to create working servers after its official shutdown less than a month post-release.
– A digital protection firm named MarkScan, associated with Sony, began issuing copyright strikes against footage from the revived servers.
– The reverse engineering team has not received a cease and desist but is scaling back efforts after attracting attention.
– The author questions Sony’s opposition to fan servers, arguing minimal harm exists in allowing a small dedicated community to preserve the game.
The commercial failure of Sony’s multiplayer shooter Concord remains one of the gaming industry’s most talked-about disappointments. While the title was far from the worst game ever created, its swift removal from digital storefronts and server shutdowns marked an abrupt end to its brief availability. Despite its polished mechanics, the game struggled to find an audience, leading to its rapid demise.
Some dedicated fans, however, refused to let the game fade into obscurity. A group of enthusiasts successfully reverse-engineered the title, managing to restore online functionality. Their efforts allowed players to boot the game, join lobbies, and participate in matches on privately operated servers. Interestingly, the number of concurrent users on these revived platforms may have rivaled the game’s original peak player counts.
This fan-led revival, however, has drawn legal attention. Reports indicate that MarkScan, a digital asset protection firm frequently employed by Sony, has begun issuing copyright strikes against any footage originating from these unofficial servers. The company is known for handling content removal campaigns for the platform holder, including takedowns of modified gameplay videos.
So far, the hobbyists behind the project have not received formal cease and desist orders regarding their reverse engineering activities. Nevertheless, the team appears to be reducing its public visibility following this increased scrutiny. While Sony clearly wishes to move past this chapter, many observers question the necessity of targeting such a niche preservation effort. Given the game’s minimal popularity during its official run, allowing a small community of dedicated fans to maintain their own servers seems unlikely to cause any significant harm.
(Source: Push Square)
