The Shocking Truth: PS5, Xbox Game Consoles on the Verge of Permanent Shutdown
A beloved and highly acclaimed free-to-play multiplayer shooter will sadly bid farewell as it announces the permanent closure of its services on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms
Bandai Namco has announced the closure of Gundam Evolution, a free-to-play multiplayer shooter available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. The game will be shut down in November, just over a year after its launch. The developers express their gratitude to the players for their support, but state that they are unable to sustain future development in a way that will meet the players' expectations. Gundam Evolution is a team-based shooter with six players on each side, following objective-focused match types. Drawing inspiration from Overwatch, the game replaces characters with mobile suits from popular Gundam anime, manga, and video games. Each mobile suit possesses weapons and abilities derived from its respective source material. Monetization elements include an in-game battle pass and loot boxes for unlocking content of varying rarities.
Bandai Namco Online's development team announced on Thursday morning that Gundam Evolution's online service will officially come to an end on November 29th. However, players can still enjoy the game on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S until that date. According to Bandai Namco, this decision was made because they are no longer able to meet the expectations of their players.
Despite the end of the online service, Gundam Evolution will continue to receive updates during Season 6, beginning on August 23rd, and in the game's final season, starting on October 25th. These updates will include the addition of a new playable Gundam mobile suit, as well as two new maps in one update and one new map in the other. Bandai Namco's goal is to ensure that players can continue enjoying the game until the very end. To discuss all remaining plans for Gundam Evolution, a final Mission Briefing livestream will be held on July 21st at 11:00 PM PT.
The development team at Bandai Namco Online includes an apology in their announcement for the shutdown of Gundam Evolution. Although the apology does not delve into the team's emotions or delve into the reasons behind the game's failure, the team does express gratitude towards the players. It is undoubtedly a challenging decision for developers to close a game that hasn't even been live for a year.
Unfortunately, the decline of Gundam Evolution has been evident for some time. On Steam, the number of concurrent players dropped dramatically from 56,000 to less than 2,000 in just two months. The game garnered mixed reviews, with criticisms centered around issues such as matchmaking, balance, slow updates, and unfair monetization practices. Unlocking new mobile suits, which are often the most powerful units in the game, was particularly time-consuming and difficult without spending real money. Regrettably, the opportunity for improvements in Gundam Evolution has now passed.
Gundam Evolution is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
