Gundam Multiplayer Game Shutting Down After Only One Year
A multiplayer shooter set within the world of Gundam is now slated to shut down across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms after only having been available for roughly one year. At the end of 2022, Bandai Namco released Gundam Evolution, which is a free-to-play first-person multiplayer shooter set within the popular world of Gundam. On paper, this idea is one that enticed a number of fans upon its arrival, but after failing to sustain a large enough player base, Bandi Namco has now decided to pull the plug on Evolution.
In a new message posted to the game's official website, Bandai Namco revealed that Gundam Evolution is slated to come to an end this November. Prior to that time, the shooter will continue to receive its planned updates and new content that were previously announced. Once November comes to a close, though, Gundam Evolution will see its servers shuttered, which means that the game will no longer be playable in any capacity.
"It is with great sadness that we are announcing the conclusion of Gundam Evolution. The game's service will end on November 29, 2023," said executive producer Kazuya Maruyama. "We wanted to create a title that brought FPS fans and Gundam fans together. We challenged ourselves to create an authentic Gundam FPS game that could be played globally. Unfortunately, we have determined that it is no longer possible for us to provide a service that satisfies our players. We want to express our gratitude to everyone who has played the game and supported us to this point. At the same time, we would like to sincerely apologize to our fans and players."
In all likelihood, most people who played Gundam Evolution probably aren't too crestfallen by this announcement as the game wasn't all that well-received by players in the first place. Currently, Evolution boasts a "Mixed" rating on Steam, which is pretty disappointing. Outside of its critical reception, Gundam Evolution has also never blown up in the way that Bandai Namco surely wanted it to. Based on data from SteamDB, the game has less than 300 active players on Steam at the time of this writing. With all of this in mind, it's not surprising to see that Bandai Namco is ending its support whatsoever.
How do you feel about seeing Gundam Evolution come to an end so soon after releasing? And did you ever check out this game for yourself? Let me know either down in the comments or reach out to me on Twitter at @MooreMan12.