Wargaming's 'Steel Hunters' Bites the Dust: Another Live Service Dream Deferred (After Just Three Months!)
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Wargaming's *Steel Hunters* is shutting down just three months after its early access launch, highlighting the brutal realities of the live-service market. Is this another sign that the gold rush is over, or just a case of a mech shooter not quite finding its audience?
Crikey, another one bites the dust. Wargaming, the folks behind the behemoth that is *World of Tanks*, have announced they're pulling the plug on their live-service mech shooter, *Steel Hunters*, a mere three months after its early access launch. Three months! That's less time than it takes to brew a decent cup of tea.
According to Eurogamer, who first broke the news, *Steel Hunters* just didn't manage to capture the player base needed to sustain it. The all-time peak of 4,479 concurrent players suggests that, while passionate, the community just wasn't big enough. It's a tough market out there, especially for live service games.
"Today we share difficult news: we've made the decision to sunset Steel Hunters," the developers wrote in a Steam blog post. Fair enough, these things happen. But the speed of the sunset is what makes you raise an eyebrow, isn't it?
So, what's the post-mortem? Maybe it was the competition from *Mecha Break*, another free-to-play mech shooter that saw a massive demo turnout. Maybe it was just bad timing. Whatever the reason, *Steel Hunters* joins the growing list of live-service games that promised the moon but delivered… well, not much. Wargaming is unlocking all Hunters and releasing custom game support to let the remaining players enjoy the game before the servers shut down “around” October 8th. They're even planning a farewell tournament. A valiant effort, but a bit like putting a band-aid on a severed limb, innit?
This isn't just about one game, though. It's a sign of the times. As Eurogamer rightly pointed out, the top live-service games are hogging all the playtime. Sony is still pushing for live-service titles like *Marathon* and *Fairgames*, and Sega recently admitted they find these types of games their biggest challenge. The pressure to create the next *Fortnite* or *Destiny* is immense, but the graveyard of failed live-service games is getting awfully crowded.
The whole thing reminds me of trying to herd cats in a zero-gravity environment. Everyone *thinks* they can do it, but the reality is a lot messier and less predictable. So, pour one out for *Steel Hunters*. It had a dream, even if it was a short one.
Tags: live service, mech shooter, Wargaming, game shutdown, gaming industry
Original article: Eurogamer