But the Japanese giant also used its livestream to announce Marvel Rivals for PS5, and the Netease shooter occupies a similar space with a popular license and is free-to-play. So where does that leave Concord, and how much will it actually cost?
Well, pre-orders will open next week, so there will be a paid component. However, as many have pointed out, free-to-play games often receive full-price Founders Packs which come bundled with various cosmetics and in-game goodies; this author plumped up for the MultiVersus one a couple of years ago, for example.
However, the small-print on the PS Blog mentions that PS Plus is required to play Concord on PS5, and usually this requirement is relieved for free-to-play games, such as Fortnite. This suggests the first-person shooter will come with a price tag attached, presumably a budget one much like Helldivers 2 earlier in the year.
To be honest, this is a huge risk from Sony. All of the biggest hero shooters already on the market cost nothing to get started, and Concord is going head-to-head with all of them. Fans may claim to hate Overwatch 2, but it’s still enormously popular – and that’s without even mentioning the likes of Valorant et al. The game does look like it’s got a pretty huge budget, but PlayStation’s going to have to work overtime to establish it.
