Steel Hunters, Wargaming's Mech Mayhem, Gets the Axe Sooner Than You Can Say 'Duo Symbiosis' (Whatever That Is)
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Wargaming is shutting down Steel Hunters just three months after its early access launch, which is a bit of a shocker; they're giving it a send-off with custom games and a farewell tournament.
Right, so Wargaming, the folks behind the tank-tastic World of Tanks, decided to pull the plug on their mech shooter, Steel Hunters. And get this, it's only been three months since it lumbered into early access. Three months! That's barely enough time to learn the controls, let alone form a meaningful attachment to your giant robot buddy.
According to a post on Steam (cheers to Rock Paper Shotgun for spotting this first, link below!), Wargaming said they're sunsetting the game because, well, "continuing development is not sustainable." Ouch. You've got to feel for the devs who poured their time and energy into this, and for the players who were genuinely digging it. It's always a bit of a gut punch when a game gets canned so quickly.
Now, I wasn't entirely sold on Steel Hunters from the get-go. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell from RPS saw it at the Game Awards and reckoned it felt like a bit of a mishmash of genres, relying a bit too heavily on the World of Tanks name. But fair play to Wargaming, they're trying to give the game a decent send-off.
Apparently, they're rolling out custom game support, unlocking all the mechs for everyone to try, and even hosting a "farewell tournament" on their Discord. So, if you're one of the brave souls who ventured into the world of Steel Hunters, you've got until October 8th to squeeze every last drop of mech-on-mech action out of it.
It’s a bit of a shame, isn’t it? Games development is a tough old slog, and sometimes things just don’t pan out. Here's hoping the team behind Steel Hunters lands on their feet and gets cracking on something equally bonkers. Maybe next time they'll nail that "Duo Symbiosis" thing – still not entirely sure what that is, mind you. Perhaps they should have just called it 'teamwork'?
Tags: mech shooter, wargaming, steel hunters, game shutdown, early access
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun