Two years after its launch, the legacy of Firewalk Studios’ 2024 hero shooter Harmony will not be, because the builders most likely hoped, as a premium and well-liked different to Overwatch and Valorant. It’s, as an alternative, a yardstick towards which live-service sport failure is measured.
ARC Group and PUBG Studios introduced on Thursday that PUBG: Blindspot, their top-down 5v5 tactical shooter, will shut down on March 30. It’s going to have lasted 40 days longer than Harmony‘s dismal 14-day run, barely hanging on longer Highguard, this month’s different high-profile live-service failure, which lasted solely 31 days longer than Harmony earlier than shutting down.
PUBG: Blindspot launched in early entry on February 4. In keeping with a press launch from writer and PUBG Studios proprietor Krafton, the aim of the early entry launch was for “…the event group [to] actively work…alongside gamers to refine gameplay techniques and develop content material forward of full launch. Participant suggestions will play a central function, with frequent updates deliberate to enhance depth, steadiness, and total high quality.” And whereas the group did an admirable job with that aim, releasing common patches in response to participant suggestions as promised, it appears there simply weren’t sufficient gamers for the sport to succeed. One of many largest complaints in PUBG: Blindspot’s Steam consumer opinions was lengthy wait instances for matches as a result of its persistently low variety of concurrent gamers.
Within the publish saying the sport’s closure, ARC Group’s Sequoia Yang wrote, “…after cautious consideration, we’ve got come to the conclusion that we’re not capable of sustainably present the extent of expertise we got down to ship via Early Entry. We place participant expertise on the heart of each determination we make, and it’s primarily based on that precept that we’ve got made this determination.”
This comes amid Krafton’s ghoulish aim of changing into an “AI-first” gaming firm with a $69 billion funding within the know-how. A choose additionally not too long ago ordered Krafton to reinstate Subnautica 2 studio head Ted Gill after he discovered the corporate improperly fired Gill in 2025. Clearly, issues are going tremendous properly over there.
