After just two years on PS4

Spellbreak, the magic-infused battle royale title that released for PS4 in September 2020, is shutting down in early 2023. You may remember Spellbreak from its console debut trailer, which was part of a State of Play broadcast in 2019. The colourful title has been around since 2018, when it first entered early access on PC.

Developer Proletariat's official statement on the situation reads: "After more than four years of elemental magic and spell combinations, we’ve made the decision to end development of Spellbreak. The servers will be shut down as of early 2023. Thank you to the millions of players who have joined us in the Hollow Lands since 2018; it’s been an amazing journey."

It goes without saying that trying to launch and maintain a multiplayer title is incredibly difficult in this day and age. Very few games manage to retain any significant player numbers, and titles that struggle to keep pace are usually forced into either changing their business model, or shutting down completely.

"Spellbreak was an ambitious project that saw our team push new boundaries in design and development and we are excited to continue to innovate as we create new titles in the future," the studio's statement continues.

Did you try Spellbreak on PS4? Unleash the elements in the comments section below.

Robert's been a dedicated PlayStation fan since the days of Tekken 2, and he still loves a good dust up. When he's not practising combos, he's usually getting lost in the latest 100-hour RPG, or, y'know, replaying The Witcher 3.

I did! This game is actually really cool, but my friends and I had trouble sticking to it when Fortnite is right there. Still, sad to see it go. Had really unique movement and combat for a battle Royale, and I really respect the team.

I liked it, but I didn’t find much to keep me playing without a big user base or progression.

Anyway... won't be the last to close. Remember Hood from PS Plus a while back? That'll go one daysoon. Lawbreakers a fee years ago. Many such cases.

Sadly, this is expected, and won't be the last MP game to shut down servers. Sometimes I feel like there's just not enough time to keep up with one multiplayer game, let alone several...It's tough to retain a player base with just so many options out there.

Created in the midst of the battle royale feeding frenzy. I'm surprised it lasted this long.

good , they need to make more traditional multiplayers again , there’s nothing that will top apex , fortnite, Warzone and even PUBG . there’s better opportunity in focusing on other avenues with MP. battle royale is set, seriously . even fall guys calls itself a battle royale , ffs .

Spellbreak (much like Hyperscape that came around the same time) is alright, but that is not enough to keep players around for the months and years that these live service game require.

Which in turn makes me wonder how many of Sony's 10 upcoming live service offerings will be a success, and how many will fail like so many before them.

@Perturbator A live service is technically different from the online multiplayers.. No Mans Sky, Minecraft, Dreams are live service games, guess its how Sony define what live service is, theres several roads they could do down instead of the typical route.

While disappointing, it’s not surprising. The combat was the most exciting part. I wish it was a co-op game more along the lines of Destiny and Warframe… maybe it would’ve lasted longer if that were the case.

Perhaps many developers should realise that you need to make a game that stands out more than just being "yet another" battle royale. Fall Guys stands out because while there's a dozen other colourful games (Knockout City, Splatoon, etc.), there are next to no games that are like playing glorified obstacle courses like Fall Guys is. Granted, the issue is a bit more complicated, but having just spent about 30 seconds watching Spellbreak on Twitch, it looks basically identical to Fortnite, if you made the characters shorter and gave them a witch's hat.

@PaperAlien Yeah that's true, Let it Die is another example of a (mostly) single player live service experience like you said. Even Assassin's Creed Odyssey that I'm playing right now has elements of it in the in-game store.

The studio was bought by Blizzard.

Tap here to load 13 comments

Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...

Rumour: PS Plus Essential PS5, PS4 Games for July 2022 Leaked Early

PSA: PS Plus Extra, Premium Games Removed from Service Aren't Yours to Keep Forever

Once they're gone, they're gone

All PS5, PS4 games lists for PS Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium

PS Plus Extra, Premium List Games Leaving Soon, Shadow Warrior 3 Gone on 5th July

Syberia leaves PS Plus Premium soon too

PS Plus Memberships: All Three Tiers Explained

What PS Plus Essential, Extra, and Premium gets you

New PS4 Games Release Dates in 2022

New PS5 Games Release Dates in 2022

New PS5, PS4 Games This Week (27th June to 3rd July)

PS5 Stock: Where to Buy PlayStation 5 and When in June 2022

NBA 2K22: All Locker Codes

PS Plus Essential PS5, PS4 Games for July 2022 Revealed

Best Single Player Games on PS5

NBA 2K23 Release Date and Cover Athletes Teased by 2K Sports

PS Plus Memberships: All Three Tiers Explained

Random: EA Gets Destroyed for Trying to Meme About Single...

Join 396,149 people following Push Square:

© 2022 Hookshot Media, partner of ReedPop. Hosted by 44 Bytes.