Harmony is being shut down and all gamers refunded two weeks after it launched – WGB

In a staggering transfer, Sony and Firewalk Studios are admitting defeat and shutting down the Harmony simply two weeks after it launched on PS5 and PC. The sport has been pulled from sale, and can formally go offline on September 6.

In case you’ve been maintaining with the information you then’ll already know why: no one is definitely taking part in the sport. On PC, the live-service shooter failed to attract in even a thousand concurrent gamers on launch day. That quantity has solely declined. Over the previous couple of days, Harmony has struggled to recover from 100 concurrent gamers. Some hope was held that the numbers have been doing higher on PlayStation 5, however that’s clearly not the case.

“Harmony followers — we’ve been listening intently to your suggestions because the launch of Harmony on PlayStation 5 and PC and wish to thank everybody who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar,” sport director Ryan Ellis wrote on a PlayStation Weblog submit. “Your help and the passionate group that has grown across the sport has meant the world to us.”

“Nevertheless, whereas many qualities of the expertise resonated with gamers, we additionally acknowledge that different facets of the sport and our preliminary launch didn’t land the best way we’d meant. Subsequently, presently, now we have determined to take the sport offline starting September 6, 2024, and discover choices, together with these that can higher attain our gamers.”

The language used is vital to bear in mind as a result of whereas the sport is being taken offline and faraway from sale, Sony and Firewalk clearly wish to discover some technique to convey Harmony again. The plain reply is, after all, to resurrect the title as free-to-play the place the low barrier of entry would possibly permit it an opportunity to attract in some curious gamers. Thoughts you, one of many greatest causes for not liking the sport gamers have talked about is the art-style which drew dislikes the second it was proven.

Nevertheless, whereas Sony and Firewalk do appear inclined to convey Harmony again in some type, Sony have additionally talked about firming down their push for live-service. May Harmony be scrapped fully? It could be a bitter capsule for Sony to swallow, however with out drastically altering the artwork and redesigning the sport for a free-to-play mannequin, is it price sinking thousands and thousands extra into the sport?

The weblog submit goes on to say that everybody who has purchased the sport – which was estimated at round 25,000 a number of days in the past – might be getting robotically refunded.

It’s a harsh blow to Firewalk Studios who’ve allegedly been engaged on the sport for anyplace from 5-8 years, which is sensible as a result of Overwatch was immensely well-liked round that point. Sony purchased Firewalk final yr, presumably as a result of they noticed one thing they preferred in each the crew and Harmony, so the monetary blow isn’t fairly as devastating for them, though it’s nonetheless a reasonably spectacular failure. In truth, I’d go as far as to say that is most likely the largest flop in Sony’s historical past.

The primary concern now might be for everybody at Firewalk – hopefully, this doesn’t result in large layoffs.

Is that this one other signal that the live-service bubble has burst? Regardless of all the pieces, lots of people who performed Harmony stated it was good. However being good isn’t adequate in a market the place the reigning free-to-play titles value nothing and play nice. On prime of that, live-service shooters need to compete for essentially the most invaluable commodity individuals have: time. Most individuals will commit time and cash to only one or two live-service video games, and attempting to tempt them away requires one thing really particular, which Harmony simply wasn’t.

Will Harmony return, or is that this the tip?