The once-popular free-to-play multiplayer shooter will be permanently discontinued on PC, PS and Xbox.

 

 

A free-to-play multiplayer shooter is shutting down on PC, PS and Xbox. Bandai Namco has confirmed that Gundam Evolution is coming to the end of its life. According to the company, Gundam Evolution will be discontinued in November, just over a year after the game’s release. The developers thanked all players for their support. But they say that future development cannot be sustained to keep players happy.

Gundam Evolution is a free-to-play team-based shooter game in which six players face six opponents in objective-based game types.

In many ways, it is an Overwatch-inspired Gundam game, where mobile suits replace characters. Each mobile suit is taken from the popular Gundam anime, manga and video games and features weapons and powers directly from the source material.

The development team at Bandai Namco Online announced Thursday morning that Gundam Evolution’s online service will officially end on November 29. The game will remain available until that date. It will be playable on all platforms, including PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. In explaining the decision, Bandai Namco says that “it is no longer possible for us to provide a service that satisfies our players”.

Updates for Gundam Evolution will continue to appear in Season 6, which launches on August 23. As well as in the final season of the game, which starts on October 25. Both updates will include a new playable Gundam mobile suit. Also, two new maps and one new map. Bandai Namco says Gundam Evolution players will enjoy the game “to the end”.

A final Mission Briefing livestream will be held at 23:00 on July 21, where all remaining plans for Gundam Evolution will be discussed.

The announcement will also include an apology from the development team at Bandai Namco Online. The apology does not address the team’s feelings or explore what went wrong or what could have been done differently. But the team does thank all the players of Gundam Evolution. It can’t be easy for developers to stop a game that hasn’t even been live for a year.

The writing has, unfortunately, been on the wall for Gundam Evolution for some time. At least on Steam, the number of concurrent players of Gundam Evolution has dropped from 56,000 to less than 2,000 in two months. The game has received mixed reviews. Criticisms have focused on matchmaking, balance, slow updates and harsh monetisation.

Source: Twitter

We have an important announcement regarding GUNDAM EVOLUTION.

Please refer to the official website for announcement regarding service schedule and update information. https://t.co/8OdQt0qgaf #GUNDAMEVOLUTION #GUNEVO pic.twitter.com/dd8GNBzbGO

— GUNDAM EVOLUTION (@gundamevolution) July 20, 2023