Sony and developer Firewalk will be holding an open beta weekend for their upcoming hero shooter Concord. Both an open beta weekend and an early access weekend for pre-orders will be taking place in July, across both PS5 and PC, on the following dates:
- Concord Beta Early Access – 12th-14th July
- Concord Open Beta – 18th-21st July
The early access weekend will be available to all those that pre-order Concord, but each person that pre-orders any edition of the game will actually get five codes for the early access weekend, meaning to you can bring yourself and four friends to create a full fireteam of Freegunners.
During the beta, you’ll have four maps to play on and there will be four game modes introduced by the second weekend: Trophy Hunt (Team Deathmatch), Cargo Run (Search & Destroy), Clash Point (like single capture point Search & Destroy), Area Control (uh… Control)
The two pre-launch test weekends will also have full cross-play support, though this is an optional side to the game (as it should be in any competitive shooter).
The full launch for Concord is then set for 23rd August, both physically and digitally for £34.99 here in the UK and $39.99 / €39.99 / ¥4,480 in other regions
Firewalk and Sony have big ambitions for their shooter, looking to usurp the formula laid out by Overwatch almost a decade ago. It will drop you into the shoes of the crew of the North Star, taking on high-stakes jobs that will see you facing off against other Freegunner crews. With 16 class-based characters each with contrasting abilities and gear, the parallels to Overwatch are clear, but there is a key distinction to how the game plays as some gear and gadgets will be able to have effects that persist between rounds – traps, lane-blockers, shield barriers and more can shape an entire match between teams.
There’s also a greater emphasis on story being built directly into the game. Each week will open with a new cinematic vignette that will feed into the character building and overarching universe that Firewalk is creating, aiming to go beyond the character building of other examples of the genre.
