Sony has already scored one massive live-service success story this year with Helldivers 2, and with Concord, it's hoping to land itself another. Today marks the start of the first of two Concord beta weekends, and while it's not a fully open beta right now, there will still be plenty of shooter fans jumping in to see how it stacks up to rivals like Overwatch and Destiny 2's Crucible.
While there are always a lot of eyes on any new live-service Concord fairs due to its rather divisive reveal. Despite developer Firewalk bringing a wealth of competitive shooter experience, a solid lineup of modes and playable characters at launch, and high-quality cinematics, it's safe to say that it didn't blow people away when it properly unveiled Concord earlier this year.
Alongside its clear attempts to ride on the light-hearted, space scoundrel vibes of Guardians of the Galaxy, the multiplayer game failed to wow when it came to its actual gameplay showcase. There is a definite sense of hero shooter fatigue right now, and I'm certainly among those that are a bit sceptical about Concord, but I'll definitely be giving it a go over the course of these two beta weekends.
The first starts today, Friday, July 12 at 10am PDT/ 1pm EDT/ 6pm BST and wraps up on Sunday, July 14. This is only open to PC players that have pre-ordered Concord, or if you've been invited by a friend – anyone who pre-orders receives four extra codes that they can dish out to pals. Console players with a PS Plus hip can also access it this weekend.
The Concord open beta weekend, which anyone can access for free regardless of whether you pre-ordered or not, will kick off on Thursday, July 18, at 10am PDT/ 1pm EDT/ 6pm BST, and concludes on Sunday, July 21.
It's encouraging to see that all 16 heroes (known as Freerunners in the Concord universe) are going to feature during the beta, as it will give us a true sense of how each playstyle feels and how good a job Firewalk has done at balancing things. There are also four maps and three modes that you'll get to experience.
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