Sony has started removing YouTube videos showing Concord running on fan-made custom servers, raising new questions about how far the company will go to shut down the community revival.
Concord’s short run was rough from the start. The hero shooter launched in August 2024 as one of Sony’s big live-service pushes, but it never found a strong player base. Within weeks, servers went offline, refunds rolled out, and the game was left unplayable once everything was shut down. Firewalk Studios, the team behind the project, closed not long after.
Earlier today, the story took a surprising turn when a small group of developers brought Concord back online with custom servers. They spent months rebuilding the backend, reverse engineering systems, and getting matches working again.
Fans finally saw the game boot up, load characters, match players, and even run a full Clash Point match. It was the first time anyone had played Concord since Sony shut everything down. Now it looks like Sony is not thrilled about this revival.
Sony is seemingly removing custom server gameplay from YouTube
Shortly after the project gained attention, the two main YouTube videos from the original devs behind the project, showing Concord running on these custom servers were hit with DMCA takedowns. The takedowns were issued by MarkScan, the same company responsible for many of Sony’s recent copyright enforcement actions.
For anyone unfamiliar, MarkScan is a “digital asset protection” firm that sends DMCA notices and monitors online content for large clients. The company has a long record of acting on Sony’s behalf. Past cases include DMCA strikes tied to Sony Music, removals involving old television footage claimed for Sony, and multiple takedowns connected to Sony Interactive Entertainment projects like Bloodborne demake and modded game footage.
In other words, when MarkScan shows up, it usually means Sony is behind it. This lines up with what happened here. As of right now, the takedowns are all focused on YouTube gameplay videos, not the custom server project itself.
Red, one of the devs behind the Concord project, posted a short update in the Concord Delta Discord saying: “Due to worrying legal action we’ve decided to pause invites for the time being.”
It is important to note that the team has not received a direct DMCA notice from Sony or MarkScan for the actual custom server project. So far, all action has targeted YouTube uploads, not the code or the development work.
What do you think about Sony stepping in this fast? Should older live-service games be allowed to come back through community projects, or is this the expected outcome when a publisher pulls the plug? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
