Summary
- Some multiplayer games, despite high ambitions and big backing, face swift shutdowns due to lack of player interest.
- Games like Concord, Marvel Heroes Omega, and Overkill's The Walking Dead suffered early demise despite potential.
- Crucible, PlanetSide Arena, and other multiplayer games failed to stand out in crowded markets, leading to quick downfall.
Multiplayer games, once a niche corner of video gaming, are now hugely successful, with titles from classics like League of Legends to more contemporary games like the Overwatch franchise. Making and maintaining these games can be a massive undertaking and when development and release all go smoothly, these games bring people together and help create unforgettable moments.
But sometimes, things don't go as planned, and the pressures of being a big game with big ambitions can often end in disaster. Some multiplayer games suffered this fate in around a year, others more swiftly. Here are the most notable examples of games that started with a bang but ultimately died with a whimper, and all of which were shut down relatively quickly.
1 Concord
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Concord
- Lifespan: 2 Weeks
It's probably not a good idea to name a video game after a doomed aircraft with a tragic history. The first-person hero shooter Concord was hoping to enjoy the success of inspirations like Apex Legends, with several characters to choose from and a fast-paced dynamic. It had the might of Sony behind it as the publisher, so what could possibly go wrong?
As it turns out, quite a lot. So much so that mere days after it launched on August 23, this year, Sony announced that it would be taken offline and delisted from the digital storefront, with refunds given to anyone who purchased a copy. Reportedly, fewer than 700 players had signed up for the game, and the whole thing was put to bed early.
2 Marvel Heroes Omega
A Project Too Big To Fail Did Just That
Marvel Heroes
- Lifespan: 6 Months
On paper, it seems like a sure thing: a massively multiplayer online experience featuring over 100 heroes taken straight from the pages of Marvel Comics. Marvel Heroes Omega was the console iteration of a PC and Mac title that had existed since 2013. It was released on consoles on June 30, 2017, a seemingly sure thing bound to ensnare huge numbers of players and Marvel fans alike.
The game used a system comparable to World of Warcraft, with multiplayer RPG mechanics, different scenarios, and raids all in the mix. Acclaimed comics creator Brian Michale Bendis was the lead writer on the game, so its comic book credentials were impeccable. But after staffing issues and missed player updates, the final blow came when Marvel owner Disney announced it was cutting ties with developer Gazillion Entertainment, and the whole thing was shut down in November of the same year.
3 Overkill's The Walking Dead
A Zombie Shooter That Was Put Out Of Its Misery
OVERKILL'S The Walking Dead
- Released
- November 6, 2018
- Developer(s)
- Overkill Software
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
- Lifespan: 4 Months
Given the immense popularity of The Walking Dead games, it was the proverbial no-brainer that a developer should build a cooperative shooter set in the grisly world of the series. Developer Overkill Software sought to do exactly that, first announcing the game in August 2014, hoping to make a title in the mold of their popular Payday series, only this time with hordes of the shuffling undead.
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Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman was involved with the creative process and gave the studio feedback on how best to handle his baby. A series of cinematic trailers all steadily built the hype, with the promise of a game that would reflect the intense, gritty world of the TV show. What gamers ended up with was a title in an already overcrowded zombie game marketplace, with frustrating mechanics. The game flopped on release on November 6, 2018 before all development support was discontinued the following February.
4 Hellgate: London (2007)
The Demons Weren't The Only Ones Who Were Cursed
- Lifespan: 1 Year and 2 Months
Hellgate: London came with a solid pedigree, with a development team that included former members of gaming giant Blizzard. The game itself sees the city of London transformed into a wretched hellscape in the year 2038, and the player must hack and slash their way through a roguelike with hordes of demonic entities. A hotly-anticipated title at the time, the game's soaring ambitions fell flat when it launched on the spookily appropriate date of October 31, 2007.
Technical issues were rife and players reportedly experienced so many bugs that the game would routinely crash. Developer Flagship went bust just over a year later and the multiplayer servers were taken offline on January 31, 2009. Interestingly, the game enjoyed an afterlife of sorts, with different iterations, and earlier this year it was announced that a new title, Hellgate: Redemption, is in the works.
5 Kill Strain (2016)
A Very Short-Lived Battle Between Humans And Mutants
- Lifespan: 1 Year and 5 Months
There was a novel twist at the heart of Kill Strain, in which players battle mutants for control of the titular strain. Players could turn humans into monsters to turn the odds in their team's favor. This ingenious mechanic, welded to a PvP shooter set in a fantasy world, could have provided players with a fresh experience, ensuring that time and again they would return to the game.
The game was released on the PlayStation Store on July 16, 2016, in the EU and Europe, but reviews were not kind to the twin-stick shooter, and it failed to connect with players in the way that studio bosses were hoping for. Sony announced that the game would be shut down on December 18th, 2017.
6 Infinite Crisis
DC Heroes Couldn't Save The Day
Infinite Crisis
- Lifespan: 5 Months
Two years before Marvel learned the hard way that superpowers can't solve everything, DC Comics made its own foray into multiplayer gaming with an online battle arena game that would pit the likes of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman against iconic villains. The gameplay echoed that of other popular games like DoTA, with the goal being to destroy the other team's power core while handling turrets and drones.
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A digital comic book based on the game's story was used to promote it, but despite the big-name characters attached, it was met with a profound shrug by the gaming community. With a 68% score on Metacritic, Infinite Crisis was neither especially good nor especially bad and offered a diluted experience of bigger titles like League Of Legends, which had a devoted fan base. Less than five months after its March 26 release, it was shut down for good.
7 PlanetSide Arena (2019)
This Science-Fiction Shooter Couldn't Go The Distance
- Lifespan: 5 Months
Hot off the success of the Planetside series, a first-person multiplayer online shooter was created that used weapons, settings, vehicles, and gameplay mechanics that were seen in Planetside 2. Multiple game modes were included, with popular inclusions like Deathmatch, capture the flag, and battle royale. All the ingredients were in place for a solid shooter based on a well-regarded universe.
And yet it was not to be. The game experienced major delays in the period before its release. Though it launched with decent numbers, the game wasn't able to do enough to distinguish it from similar titles like Apex Legends. The game was released on September 19, 2019, but mere weeks later, the developer announced that lower numbers of players meant it was shutting the game down in January of the following year.
8 Crucible (2020)
Amazon's Bid For Gaming Glory Didn't Deliver
Crucible
- Released
- May 21, 2020
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Developer
- Relentless Studios
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
- Lifespan: 4 Months
A lot was riding on Crucible, as it represented Amazon Game Studios' first attempt to crack an already crowded gaming market in the PC space, having focused on tablet gaming in the past. Studio bosses decided in their wisdom that a free-to-play multiplayer third-person shooter was their best chance at success. In the world of the game, heroes must battle in a vibrant alien setting.
There were ten characters to choose from and several different modes, with a colorful cast reminiscent of Overwatch. There was plenty of potential for the sort of exciting player-versus-player matches that had made that game a success, but Crucible endured a lengthy development period of six years before launch. It dropped on May 20, 2020, but returned to closed beta status one month later. Reviews were mixed at best, and development was discontinued by October.
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