Concord is Sony’s next live-service effort. In the vein of Overwatch and Marvel Rivals, it’s a hero-based team shooter, but unlike those games, it will not be offering a battle pass.
That’s pretty unique for a modern live-service title, as even Helldivers II has its Warbonds, which essentially act as battle passes. However, Concord is making a stand against the battle pass regime, with gameplay animation director Mark DeRidder saying “you own Concord, Concord doesn’t own you.”
There will be plenty of post-launch content added to the game, including new player characters, new maps, game modes, and more, but they won’t be hidden behind a battle pass or force you to grind in order to make the most of the new stuff.
Here’s hoping we can see more games adopt this approach in the future. But, from Concord’s player numbers, there might be an uphill battle ahead.
Concord releases on the 23rd of August.