Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance Is Shutting Down & Disappearing from Stores

One might think that a virtual Dungeons & Dragons action brawler with dynamic co-op would be an instant success, and the massive popularity of Baldur’s Gate 3 seems to prove the point. But back in 2021, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance tried to bring the TTRPG experience to the virtual space at a time when everyone’s D&D group had to pivot online. Yet despite decent timing and an exciting premise, the game had a rocky launch that likely contributed to it never gaining widespread popularity. Now, the game has announced they’re officially calling it quits.

Many modern-day fans originally came to Dungeons & Dragons mechanics through video games that leaned heavily into similar character creation and level-up systems, such as PS2-era Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. And yet Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, didn’t quite manage to carve out a space for itself. In fact, its all time Steam player peak was under 10,000.

Today, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance has a Mixed rating on Steam, with about 43% of players providing positive feedback. The most commonly cited issue is that the game is buggy, with issues that make it impossible to actually enjoy the hack and slash gameplay. Players also aren’t sold on the combat mechanics and note that balance isn’t great, with certain classes having far too great an edge against enemies. Along with a poor player reception, the game wasn’t particularly well-reviewed among video game critics, either.

The feedback isn’t entirely bad, however. Quite a few players note that they did enjoy the single-player storyline and that the game did manage to capture the essence of D&D lore. That’s not surprising, given that it was published by Wizards of the Coast themselves. A few of the recent reviews even note that many of the bugs plaguing the game have been resolved, but that doesn’t seem to have been quite enough to revive the online co-op community.

Whether or not they enjoyed the single-player experience, recent reviews note that the game has been “abandoned by the devs” and that there’s no player base anymore. With a game that relies largely on co-op appeal, not having many people interested in the game is, naturally, a bit of a problem.

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Now, the fan-rumored end of service is becoming official. Tuque Games recently updated the Steam description for Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance to include a shut down message. The servers will be shut down on February 2nd, 2025, meaning that online play and co-op will cease to exist. Starting on that day, the game will also be pulled from stores and no longer available to purchase.

The note is brief and doesn’t provide much additional context as to why the game is being shut down. The relatively poor reception and complaints of a dwindling player base are likely at the heart of the decision.

For those who already threw $30 at the game, there’s a bit of good news. The base game, plus DLC, will remain available to play offline after server shut down. Given that the single-player experience seems to have been the most positive point for most players, that’s good news for anyone who’s grabbed the game but not finished the main story. If, despite the mixed feedback, gamers want to give it a go, there are still a few months to buy the base game and Echoes of the Blood War DLC before they vanish from stores.