Live-Service Game Shuts Down Just 3 Months After Launch
▼ Summary
– Steel Hunters, a free-to-play mech shooter by Wargaming, will shut down in October after just three months in early access due to low player numbers and mixed reviews.
– The game’s servers will remain active until around October 8th, with unlocked content and custom game support added for players before closure.
– A farewell tournament is planned, and the developers expressed gratitude for the community’s support and feedback throughout the game’s lifespan.
– The shutdown may be linked to competition from rival mech shooter Mecha Break, which achieved significantly higher player counts.
– The closure highlights the challenges of launching live-service games in a market dominated by a few top titles, as seen with Sony and Sega’s ongoing struggles in the space.
The live-service mech shooter Steel Hunters is shutting down just three months after its early access launch, marking another casualty in the competitive free-to-play gaming market. Developed by Wargaming, the studio behind World of Tanks, the futuristic PvP title struggled to gain traction, peaking at fewer than 4,500 concurrent players before the developers announced its impending closure.
In a heartfelt Steam blog post, the team acknowledged the community’s support but confirmed that continuing development was no longer viable. Servers will stay online until October 8, giving players a final window to enjoy the game with all Hunters unlocked, including previously unreleased ones, and custom game support added. A farewell tournament is also in the works as a final send-off.
The developers expressed deep gratitude to fans, highlighting their role in shaping the game through feedback and enthusiasm. “From Alpha to now, your energy and dedication made this journey special,” the post read. “We couldn’t have asked for a better community.”
One possible factor in Steel Hunters’ downfall was stiff competition from Mecha Break, a rival mech shooter that drew over 300,000 players during its demo phase earlier this year. While its full release hasn’t matched that initial surge, it still maintains a significantly larger player base than Steel Hunters ever achieved.
The closure underscores the brutal reality of launching a live-service game today. Despite dominating playtime, over 40% of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S gaming hours in the U.S. go to just 10 live-service titles, success remains elusive for most. Major studios like Sony continue investing in the model, with projects like Marathon and Fairgames, even after high-profile failures like Concord. Sega’s leadership has also admitted that cracking the live-service market is one of their toughest hurdles.
For now, Steel Hunters joins the growing list of live-service experiments that couldn’t sustain long-term engagement, leaving its small but passionate community with just a few more months of mech battles before the servers go dark.
(Source: EuroGamer)
