Amazon’s game Crucible launched just over a month ago and has been pulled back into beta. This is their free to play multiplayer action PVP shooter. It was 4v4 matches in which you chose an alien, human or robot hunter and battle it out.
With a recently release the number of players on steam has already fallen below 500. In a game which is free to play, that is devastating. Many games do not make it after launch, so while this is not uncommon, this game has the backing of Amazon which has likely to spend big dollars on development.
Pulling the game back to closed beta is an interesting tactic. Its something we have not seen done by a large company. For the most part they will leave it released and work on updates and changes. While it gives us hope that they can improve, it does not look good. The one thing they have in their favor is it is free to play so people can try it without buying it. Its more likely that people will give it a chance because of this.
Crucible has been plagued with issue since release with two cut modes and a delay of the first season just weeks after launch. With its MOBA style mixed with a hero shoot it was an interesting take these game types. It looks like Amazon quickly saw that this was not going to work and are trying to rebuild the ship. From what they have said it looks like they want to almost rebuild the game. Changing the map, gameplay and systems could make an impact.
Amazon studios has had their own issues with star recruits leaving the studio, no successful launched games, cancelled projects and employee’s laid off, it would seem that whoever is guiding the ship has not found the right path. How long until Amazon pulls the plug and shuts it down?
Amazon’s track record thus far has not been great. Having produced failures so far this is another blow to their track record. With New World coming soon, will this have an impact on their release, or will they achieve the success they are trying for?