Deadlock Fans Are Welcoming Lost Concord Players Into Their Ranks [IGN]

Fans of Valve shooter Deadlock are welcoming in lost Concord players who, as of September 6, 2024, will no longer be able to access the hero shooter as Sony shuts off servers a mere two weeks after launch.

The PlayStation 5 and PC game launched August 23, 2024 to abysmal player numbers that made Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which was dubbed a disappointment by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav and caused a $200 million hit to revenue, look like a titan.

Sony removed it from sale 11 days later and three days after that is shutting off servers, making the entire game unplayable to everyone, even those who spent $39.99 on its standard edition or $59.99 Deluxe Edition. All players will be refunded.

While PS5 Concord players may consider alternatives such as Destiny 2, Overwatch 2, and Valorant, some PC players are now looking to Deadlock as their next game. The two games are quite different as Deadlock has a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) twist, but those looking to enjoy a live service hero shooter with lots of buzz around it are seeing Deadlock as a top choice.

“Welcoming all Concord victims to join us,” reads a Reddit post with an image of the Deadlock logo and more than 4,000 upvotes. The comments includes jokes, as you’d expect (“not everybody at once woah” or “can the servers handle tens of new players?”) but some are wholesome.

“If you want I can get you in,” Arcaydya replied to one user who couldn’t get into Deadlock as it’s still in a beta phase and invite only (though has still hit a peak of 171,490 players on Steam compared to Concord’s 697).

“Send me a chat so I can easily get a list when I get home,” they added later after seemingly receiving a ton of requests. “I will do my best to get to everyone!”

The comments are sprinkled with similar sentiments, with Deadlock players enjoying the rare privilege of a live service launch going well. Valve hasn’t shared when players can join freely or when a full release may come, but its numbers continue to grow.

Concord, meanwhile, has an unclear future, and while developer Firewalk has said it’s going back to the drawing board and suggested a free-to-play re-launch may be on the cards, Sony has made no such guarantee. It was under development for eight years, according to one developer, and likely cost the company tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, to make. After all that analysts estimate it sold as little as 25,000 units.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.