We need to talk about Concord.

thanks for joining me today who I am does not matter I've worked in industry in public relations brand management as a digital technology consultant event manager and I'm now a full-time games developer running my own studio so here's the situation I want to discuss today Concord is a video game developed by firsttime developer firewalk Studios and published by Sony you may have heard of Sony they made this Electronic Entertainment device you might have used before it's called the Walkman this is firewalks Studio's very first game and it is a massive Endeavor for a development team's firsttime project Concord took 8 years to develop and reportedly cost Sony around $100 million to produce in this video I will not be reviewing Concord as I am not a reviewer I will not be criticizing or rage baiting content for engagement as I am not a YouTuber I will be offering my advice as a game developer as a working professional and lastly as an adult which it firewalk Studios is in desperate need of I'm making this video for firewalk studios for Sony for future game developers who will be making games for us in the years to come and for my fellow Gamers to help understand what the problem is here so here's the problem Concord launch numbers and user numbers upon launch are quite low well below expectations customer reaction and response to the game is largely negative the game is entering the hero shooter genre as an online multiplayer game competing with games that are already well established the game and brand puts a heavy focus on identity politics a developer of the game has called Gamers and their target audience talentless Freaks and the game and brand has no identifying unique traits Sony the publisher and firewalk Studios the developer totally disregarded the response of Their audience and forged ahead with their Vision because they knew better than the customers when the Gameplay trailer for Concord was originally shown two months ago response from Gamers was and still is largely negative according to my research players are not interested in another generic online squad-based hero shooter we already have so many of those and whether or not people actively think about it Gamers do understand the predatory focus of live service games gamers are burned out on live service games that manipulate the player into spending money on in-game purchases whether that be for alternate outfits for characters or mechanical advantages that let them have an easier time beating other players what seems important is that concord's character design places a heavy focus on diversity equity and inclusion players have responded by expressing their dislike for the character designs and the usage of pronouns in the character selection menu now diversity equity and inclusion Is Not a Bad Thing those are good things the problem is that people who are pushing those Concepts into the public space lack the maturity self-awareness and understanding of social responsibility to to do it correctly and are instead causing more damage to social progress and are actually pushing back social inclusivity further and further the developers of Concord clearly lack the understanding that taking a cultural topic with negative association and making that part of your game's identity will then result in your product your game bearing the entirety of the weight of that negative association so here's the important part here is my advice to firewalk Studios you need to accept that your approach was wrong and your focus on identity politics is something that Gamers and the gaming industry at large does not like and does not want I know it is difficult to hear this but it seems you do not have any adults in your working environment to tell you this and explain it to you based on your marketing it seems you have an attitude that is unappealing to your audience and damaging to your product you are very clearly capable and talented developers but with Concord instead of spending your attention and resources on creating an engaging and new unique game with a focus on providing the best possible experience for the end user you seem to have focused on identity politics and shoving your personal biases upon your customers this is a message for the entire game industry identity politics does not make a good game diversity does not make a good game and pronouns do not make a good game diversity can make a good game better but diversity will make a bad game worse to the games industry stop producing the same generic AAA slop just copying someone else's homework and doing what was successful last year Gamers don't know what they will want next year and it's not their job it is your job to create something new and interesting offer that to the player and see if that is something they want and like and what players and Gamers do know is what they don't want what they don't want is Concord to Sony I strongly advise you start treating your audience your customers as human beings and as equals and you start listening to them you made a mistake with Concord by letting it turn out this way I would advise rebuilding your team of consultants and marketing managers with professionals who have a stronger understanding of modern expectations of your customers and awareness of The Wider cultural landscape to my fellow Gamers there are a lot of negative videos and posts about Concord online right now as an adult I cannot condone that kind of behavior but as a gamer and a professional I urge you please continue to let your voice be heard and let others hear your thoughts if you really really dislike something for a genuine reason it is vital to the games industry that you let it be known creating rage bait content and being negative for the sake of being negative will destroy the industry especially for small and independent developers but in this situation you absolutely have to let the industry know you do not want more games like Concord you have to let developers and Publishers know you do not care about identity politics you care about good games you want the best games that the AAA industry can provide do not settle for slop and if it is within your power you create games you make something great for your fellow Gamers because you will be the future of the games industry thank you for watching and if you're wondering no I didn't play Concord at an adult I have very limited time so I can't afford to waste my time playing garbage