'We Understand This May Not Be the Outcome Many of You Were Hoping For' — PUBG Spinoff Shuts Down Before Leaving Early Access

PUBG: Blindspot is closing down aboriginal contiguous (March 30) aft conscionable 53 days, meaning it won't permission aboriginal access.

The 5v5 top-down tactical shooter built connected "clever positioning, choky teamwork, and shared vision," lone launched connected February 5, but contempt the PUBG branding and being free-to-play, developer Arc Team said it had "come to the decision that we are nary longer capable to sustainably supply the level of acquisition we acceptable retired to present done Early Access."

"We spot subordinate acquisition astatine the halfway of each determination we make, and it is based connected that rule that we person made this decision," ARC Team's Sequoia Yang said. "As a result, PUBG: Blindspot Early Access work volition travel to an extremity connected Monday, March 30." As the update was posted to Steam connected March 27, players were fixed conscionable 3 days' notice.

"We recognize this whitethorn not beryllium the result galore of you were hoping for," Yang continued. "PUBG: Blindspot was a bold effort to research caller possibilities wrong the top-down tactical shooter space. Throughout this journey, the feedback and enactment from our players person meant a large woody to the team, and volition proceed to pass our aboriginal improvement efforts.

"To everyone who believed successful the crippled and supported its direction, we are genuinely grateful."

The servers spell acheronian astatine 2am PDT (5am EDT, 10am UK time, 8pm AEDT). The squad said it volition "take immoderate clip to regroup, and we anticipation to instrumentality with caller experiences successful the future."

"This crippled is dormant due to the fact that cipher knows astir it," wrote 1 subordinate successful a Blindspot Steam review. "When you transportation a large sanction similar PUBG, I deliberation you person a selling budget. Use it, spell Twitch. [Throw] wealth into a tourney for pros. Hire a fewer celebrated streamers. The crippled itself is awesome. Tactical, thing antithetic capable to get your attention."

Another wrote: "Basically a top-down mentation of Rainbow Six: Siege that ends up playing precise otherwise owed to the top-down version. It's honestly precise well-designed and the gunplay feels good. The crippled feels much accessible acknowledgment to the top-down presumption and the information you stock imaginativeness with your teammates. It makes it casual coordinate without relying connected dependable chat and it makes casual to larn from your teammates actions arsenic you tin spot precisely what they're doing each the time.

"Too atrocious it ended up being unopen down truthful quickly. Even a bigger shame it does the aforesaid happening arsenic each different multiplayer games these days and not let for connecting via IP, truthful it was destined to go unplayable everlastingly erstwhile the steadfast pulled the plug."

Clearly, PUBG: Blindspot failed to find an audience, with a highest concurrent subordinate number connected Steam of conscionable 3,251 players. The mainline conflict royale game, PUBG: Battlegrounds, remains 1 of the most-played games connected Valve's level contempt being implicit 8 years old. On Sunday, it deed a highest of 861,783.

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.