More than a year after Sony discontinued the first-person shooter Concord, a dedicated team of developers has successfully revived the game on custom servers. This remarkable achievement allows players to once again engage with the game's beta version, which was originally taken offline following the closure of Firewalk Studios. The team's efforts highlight a profound commitment to game preservation and the community's desire to reclaim lost gaming experiences.
The developers, identified as Red, Real (also known as open_wizard), and Gwog, shared video proof of their progress, demonstrating a match being played on these unofficial servers. Their work involved an extensive process of reverse-engineering Concord, overcoming complex anti-tamper and anti-cheat measures initially implemented by Firewalk Studios. This painstaking process has enabled the game's relatively feature-complete beta to be playable on PC, offering a new lease on life for a title many thought was permanently lost.
Red, an experienced developer in reviving defunct multiplayer games such as LawBreakers and Hyenas, described the dual challenges faced during Concord's resurrection. The first involved navigating game code explicitly designed to deter reverse engineering. The second, and perhaps more daunting task, was reconstructing server-side code that was not present in the client. This "needle in a haystack" endeavor required immense dedication and technical prowess, underscoring the complexity of bringing a defunct online game back to functionality.
Real echoed these sentiments, characterizing the reverse engineering as a continuous cycle of testing, adjusting, and refining until desired outcomes were achieved. Despite not being initial fans of Concord, both Red and Real expressed a growing appreciation for the game's design and the effort its original developers invested. Real noted the satisfaction of restoring a piece of 'lost media' and acknowledged the intricate details within the game's files, even for elements they personally disliked, fostering respect for the original creators.
Looking ahead, Red anticipates that the remaining work primarily involves establishing infrastructure, with hopes of having the custom servers fully operational within a few weeks. They envision Concord's revived community as a "small community thing" after the initial surge of interest. While the project currently focuses on PC, Red offered a glimmer of hope for PlayStation 5 users, suggesting that setting up the game on that platform could be straightforward if console jailbreaking becomes more accessible. This ongoing project serves as a testament to the passion and technical skill within the gaming community, dedicated to preserving and celebrating titles that might otherwise fade into obscurity.
