Concord Developer Urges: Marathon’s Potential Shouldn’t Be Dismissed Due to Concord’s Setback

Bungie recently held a stream where they unveiled some early footage of their new first-person extraction shooter, Marathon. However, this sneak peek quickly set off a wave of skepticism across social media and Reddit. Some folks are already speculating that it might end up like Concord, a hero shooter from Sony that was pulled offline in less than a month after its launch. In light of this, a former developer from the Concord team took to the Marathon subreddit, urging the community to give the game a fair chance.

In their message, the developer, who goes by the Reddit handle MrSpug, admitted the disappointment that surrounded Concord’s release. “Concord couldn’t connect with players, and we got that message loud and clear,” they expressed. “Watching our project fail and become the butt of jokes online was truly heartbreaking.”

Having previously been a part of Firewalk Studios, which Sony shut down just months after Concord’s removal, the developer expressed empathy for the Bungie team. They recognized the hard work going into Marathon and applauded Bungie’s bravery in tackling such a fiercely competitive genre.

Reflecting on their own journey with Concord, they wrote, “I gave my all to Concord. We didn’t hit the mark, but it’s not right to hold others accountable for our errors.”

Though Concord and Marathon cater to different tastes, they share one commonality—they’re both published by Sony. Following the Marathon stream, critics were particularly vocal about Bungie’s decision to reject a free-to-play model. Nevertheless, like Concord, Marathon isn’t going to break the bank; it’s expected to be priced below the standard new release, potentially at around $40 when it launches in September. Still, even with its lower price tag, there’s lingering doubt about whether it could suffer the same fate as Concord.

In a follow-up comment, the former Concord developer emphasized their reluctance to draw attention to themselves, saying, “I didn’t intend to be ‘that’ dev causing a stir, as if I have something at stake here. But labeling this game a flop before it even hits the shelves is just absurd to me.”