A seemingly unique piece of Concord memorabilia is being auctioned off at ShopGoodwill.com, an online auction site operated by the Goodwill non-profit organization, and with five days remaining the bidding has now surpassed an astronomical $3,000.
No, that is not a typo. That is, as of 5:30 pm ET on May 29, three thousand crisp American greenbacks. Just look at it.
So, what’s going on here? Concord, you’ll recall, was an infamous flop: After millions of dollars spent, a price that included Sony’s acquisition of developer Firewalk Studios in 2023, the game faceplanted hard and was taken offline just two weeks later. Sony initially implied that it was a temporary situation but put it down for good just a couple months later, and closed Firewalk outright. By any and all measures, it was a catastrophe.
And how did this presumably commemorative plaque end up on the auction block at Goodwill? That is completely unclear. The plaque was seemingly awarded to Chelsea Grace—that’s the name on it, anyway—who’s credited as the outsourcing and co-development lead on Concord, but the mystery is how it went from their hands to Goodwill. Did they donate it to raise funds for the orphanage (or, you know, whatever)? Did they chuck it in the garbage in an effort to forget the whole thing ever happened, and someone picked it out? Did they… well, that’s all I’ve got, really.
I tried reaching out to Grace to ask what’s happening here, but unfortunately the seller is listed as “Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region,” a fact I noticed after I clicked the “send” button and was told I’d successfully submitted a support ticket request. Goodwill replied to say the plaque had been donated (and full points to its ecommerce department for being so quick to respond) but beyond that, we’re left to speculate.
But the bidding the Concord plaque has attracted is notable all on its own. 41 bids have been submitted thus far, and the price now stands at $3001.
That amount will likely go higher between now and the auction’s close, and whether the final figure will actually be paid is an open question: Like most auction sites, Goodwill’s terms of service require the winning bidder to honor their bid, but there’s nothing preventing them from simply saying “no” and disappearing into the digital ether. Given the pre-existing negativity surrounding Concord, I will be genuinely surprised if the winner just ponies up and quietly makes off with their prize.
But not entirely surprised. The plaque’s provenance is unknown and that makes it a roll of the dice to a certain extent, but assuming all is on the up-and-up this is a unique piece of videogame history, and Concord’s spectacular crash-and-burn makes it more interesting and collectible, not less. It’s a bit like an Inverted Jenny in that regard: Things did not go as planned, this is what came out of it, and a small but dedicated audience is willing to pay big bucks to claim a piece of what remains.
The auction for the “Chelsea Grace Founding Concord PS5 Freegunner Wall Hanging Plaque” runs until June 3. You better believe I’ll be keeping my eyes on it to see how this all ends up.
