Even in 2022, Battle Royale is still exceptionally popular. To the Most Played Games on Steam not only include PUBG, but also Apex Legends and Naraka: Bladepoint. Fortnite and CoD Warzone also continue to attract a lot of players. In addition to the genre greats, there is obviously little room for outsiders.
So now the developers of Spellbreak announce that it is simply no longer worthwhile to continue working on their game. In this free battle royale game, you can fight each other with all sorts of magic instead of guns. Spellbreak was pretty well received by its players, but is now said to be unavailable from 2023.
While battle royale games are still thriving, it’s only a matter of time before the next trend hits. Shooter expert Phil has already identified this one:
After Battle Royale
The new shooter trend has long been established
Why is the game discontinued?
On June 28th it was officially announced that the Discontinued development of Spellbreak and shut down the servers in Spring 2023 will. CEO Seth Sivak provides a more detailed justification for this decision on Reddit. We were pleased with the initial success and the enthusiasm of the community, making it all the more difficult to announce the end of the game:
[…] Unfortunately, the gaming industry is a tough business. Spellbreak failed to break through and reach a sustainable state from which we could continue to invest in the game as planned. As an independent studio, we took a hard road and chose to compete against some of the biggest games in the world. While we haven’t been able to achieve the competitiveness it deserves, I don’t regret any of the bold decisions we made to bring Spellbreak to life. […]
Seth Sivak, CEO von Proletariat Inc.
Update from June 29th at 16:00: As has now become known, there is another reason for the discontinuation of the game. As reported by the website Venturebeat, Blizzard Entertainment bought the studio behind Spellbreak. The team is now said to be working on World of Warcraft and the upcoming Dragonflight expansion.
Spellbreak wanted you to experience the ultimate battle mage fantasy in a battle royale setting. The trailer shows how the game works:
1:27
Spellbreak in the trailer: gameplay from the last major update
Vanishingly small number of players
A look at SteamDB reveals more about the game’s intolerable state. In the last few months, Spellbreak has only been able to attract around 200 concurrent players, and a slight downward trend was still visible. Since Spellbreak can be played for free and therefore had to be financed primarily through the sale of cosmetic items, it is not surprising that such a small number of players is simply not enough.
Just selling a game seems to have become a concept from a bygone era. In the podcast, we discuss with two industry insiders whether it has become more difficult to earn money with games:
link to Podcast Content
That’s what the fans say
Spellbreak was very well received on Steam and today has 86 percent positive ratings. Accordingly, regret and disappointment prevail among players. So writes about VoidMain0 on Reddit:
At a time when battle royales are a dime a dozen, Spellbreak brought a breath of fresh air to the genre and I fell in love with the game immediately. Thank you for all the unique fun the game has brought.
Twitter-User @NameOnCooldown sees the loss of the game as being due to the tough competitive situation:
I mean, you’ve taken on the giants of an already saturated market. Cool game mechanics used in the wrong genre. I hope the next game works better.
On the other hand, many comments blame the developers’ behavior for the downfall of the game. While everyone agrees that Spellbreak was a great game in its own right, the lack of communication from the developers to the community ruined it. In addition, there was simply a lack of new content to keep players engaged. So writes about Sir Eugen Kaiser on Reddit:
If this game hadn’t brought so much joy into my life, I would have chosen more drastic words:
Honestly, it’s pathetic the way you’ve treated your project. You first created an actual pearl, only to then slowly let it die. You guys barely listened to what the community wanted. […] There were long content lulls, but always new, expensive skins. […] And then you have the audacity to go on radio silence for 10 months and then pull the plug on the game? […]
For the same reasons, other players and players are outraged with sometimes drastic words about the sudden end of Spellbreak. Some state that they no longer want to support the developers in the future. There are obviously a lot of strong feelings involved here, which is why some irrelevant statements are made. But the basic tenor remains: Something special is lost here.
PUBG after 2,000 hours
Why in 2022 there is still no Battle Royale coming up here
Our author Sören Wetterau will not find a shooter in the genre that comes close to PUBG in 2022 either. He explains why in his column.
