In context: Sony shut down its multiplayer shooter Concord after just two weeks, citing minimal player interest despite a $400 million development budget. Three programmers skilled in reverse engineering are attempting to revive the game, but copyright hurdles could end the restoration effort before it begins.
Concord sold roughly 25,000 copies and received bad to average reviews, prompting Sony to shut it down and giving the game one of the shortest lifespans in recent memory. Three developers – known online as "real," "Red," and "gwog" – are creating custom server code and reportedly took on the project for the technical challenge.
Gwog told tech blog Aftermath that he enjoys taking things apart and putting them back together, while Red focuses on reviving defunct online games. Red previously worked on custom server code for the mega-flop LawBreakers and now calls Concord the most complex project he has tackled so far.
Concord used an anti-tamper system meant to block cheaters, which gave the revival team significant headaches. Red noted that the technology is essentially impossible to crack, so they had to find an exploit to decrypt the game's code. Once they cleared that hurdle, the programmers focused on restoring gameplay and building new custom servers to support it.
Real is responsible for recreating Concord's backend API, which manages the game's progression systems, including character level, XP, inventory, and other mechanics. Red is passionate about game preservation and initiatives such as the Stop Killing Games petition, so much so that he developed a platform specifically designed to run multiple "dead" games smoothly and reliably.
Over the past few days, the Concord restoration team shared demo footage showing the game running on new custom servers. The project is still a work in progress despite already being "functional," the developers cautioned. Unsurprisingly, Sony lawyers were monitoring closely and moved quickly.
Eurogamer reports that Sony filed a copyright infringement complaint to remove the demo videos from YouTube and other platforms. Facing this legal threat, the programmers have paused new beta invites and are continuing the project behind closed doors.
Earlier this year, the Japanese corporation confirmed plans to develop new live-service games despite Concord's failure. Sony contends that people are still interested in these kinds of experiences, but believes the free-to-play model is on the way out.
Fans attempt to resurrect Sony's shooter Concord, but lawyers are already shooting off takedowns
