Live-service mech shooter Steel Hunters will shut down in October, announced just three months after it entered early access.
The free-to-play futuristic shooter was developed and published by Wargaming, known for its World of Tanks series. But after mixed reviews and an all-time concurrent peak of just 4,479 players, it’s now sunsetting.
“Today we share difficult news: we’ve made the decision to sunset Steel Hunters,” reads a blog post from the developer on Steam. “You’ve given us so much passion and support but unfortunately we’ve come to the conclusion that continuing development is not sustainable. We know this isn’t the news anyone wanted to hear and we genuinely share in your disappointment.”
The servers will remain running for another three months until “around” 8th October. To ensure players can enjoy the game to the full in the meantime, custom game support will be rolled out and every playable Hunter will be unlocked – even some previously unreleased.
A farewell tournament is also planned, with more details to follow.
“We are immensely grateful for your time, feedback, memes, and the countless memorable battles we’ve shared,” the developer said. “From the very first days of Alpha you’ve shaped Steel Hunters with your energy, creativity and dedication and we’re honoured to have had you on this journey. We couldn’t have wished for a better community and we’ll miss you all dearly.”
Perhaps one reason for the closure of Steel Hunters is its inability to compete with mech rival Mecha Break. The free-to-play shooter from Chinese developer Amazing Seasun Games hit a peak of over 300,000 players for its demo back in February, and while the full game hasn’t yet reached those heights, it’s still managed over 132,000 concurrent players.
Still, the shut down of Steel Hunters is yet another example of the difficulties launching a live-service game in the current climate.
Live-service games are dominating player time – more than 40 percent of all playtime on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in the US in January was spent on just 10 live-service games.
As such, developers are still chasing live-service success. Sony remains committed to “diverse and resilient” live-service games like Marathon and Fairgames, despite the high profile failure of Concord. Sega president and CEO of Sega America and Europe Shuji Utsumi, meanwhile, recently admitted live-service games are the company’s biggest challenge.