‘Marvel Rivals’ Director Blames Lack of Originality for ‘Concord’ Missing the Mark

Hero shooters have been making the rounds for a minute now. While Overwatch may be one of the most well-known examples, the recently released and quickly shuttered Concord couldn’t make an impact in the genre. Several things were going against this particular title from the start, but recently, a developer for Marvel Rivals chimed in to offer some thoughts of their own.

‘marvel rivals’ lead says: “I’ve got 15 skins for Pharah, I’m not going anywhere.”

It seemed like Concord was fighting a losing battle. Divisive character designs, alongside a premium cost in a typically free-to-play genre, weren’t doing it any favors. With the wealth of different hero shooters available to play, it felt like an uphill battle trying to convince players to leave games like Overwatch behind for a more expensive version. Or, at least that’s what Marvel Rivals Director, Thaddeus Sasser, thought on the VideoGamer Podcast.

Sasser mentioned that Concord didn’t have enough to offer fans, stating:

“There’s a switching cost. I’ve already invested in Overwatch, I’ve got 15 skins for Pharah, I’m not going anywhere.” Sasser also added, “As a game developer, you’re always worried until the audience has responded. The truth is that I don’t think anybody can accurately predict this or the game industry would be radically different today. There’s a lot of games that come out that people are like ‘it’s going to do well,’ then it flops or people come out and go ‘it’s going to flop’ and it succeeds amazingly. So, I think it’s really hard to tell ahead of time and you’re always worried about that.”

And that’s easy to understand. Plenty of live-service games have come and gone, with some of them costing a premium upfront. If you’re planning on delivering something to a group? You need to ensure it’s fully cooked and ready to be dropped off piping hot on their doorstep. Especially in a genre as crowded as this. While Marvel Rivals may not be perfect, it does nearly everything right. It’s free-to-play and offers plenty of unique skins for players to purchase.

It’s Never a Good Day When a New Game fails

One of the first games I ever had to review was Babylon’s Fall. It was a game I knew was dead from the start and wouldn’t reach the heights Square Enix and Platinum Games wanted it to. Those worries became reality when the game was shut down less than a year after its release.

We may not have loved Concord or games like Babylon’s Fall, but there are still people’s lives on the line when it comes to creating a game like this. Their livelihoods are affected greatly when a game releases and is shuttered as quickly as Concord was. Jobs were lost, all because of a decision made by a corporate CEO.

Would it have helped Concord to release as a free-to-play game with plenty of cosmetic options? Likely, honestly. The people who had the opportunity to play Concord before its servers shut down seemed to genuinely enjoy the game. But it became an expensive mistake that cost plenty of passionate developers their jobs in the end. And that’s nothing to celebrate.

With over 10 million players in just three days, it seems Marvel Rivals has the right idea. Fans can’t get enough of this one, and I just wish Concord could have had its day in the sun to share alongside it.