Concord ‘Didn’t Bring Unique Value’ to Players, Says Marvel Rivals Director

According to Marvel Rivals director Thaddeus Sasser, Concord’s problem was that it “didn’t bring any unique value” to players, which is a hair harsher than we would put it. Still, we suppose Sasser would know, having enticed some 10 million players to his game this past week.

Sasser spoke to VideoGamer ahead of Rival’s whirlwind launch (thanks, VGC), which couldn’t be more at odds with the reception Sony saw with Concord. While not directly one-to-one products (free-to-play vs premium, for starters), both are designed to turn a profit at the end of the day, and Concord effectively exists in the memories of a small number of players and on the wrong side of Sony’s ledger. Sasser explained:

“I think the trick is that you need to have that reason that people want to come and play your game, and I think Marvel Rivals does that exactly with the superhero. I don’t know about you, but when I heard the concept of the game, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I want to be Storm in a game’, ‘I want to be Doctor Strange in a game.”

Marvel Rivals was developed and published by Chinese developer and publisher NetEase Games in collaboration with Marvel Games. However, the successful release was not without controversy. Former Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra claims the game is just Overwatch with a Marvel skin. More seriously, nine NetEase staff members, including NetEase Games general manager Xiang Lang, were recently arrested on alleged money laundering and bribery charges.