Harmony is formally lifeless. In an official assertion launched as we speak on PlayStation’s weblog, the corporate has introduced that its not too long ago launched multiplayer shooter might be taken offline after simply two weeks of service.
The choice comes after a disastrous launch for the sport, which launched August 23 on PlayStation 5 and PC to largely optimistic opinions however a middling participant depend. On Steam, the PC model of the sport peaked at an all-time excessive of solely 697 gamers on its launch day — a quantity so low, it’s dwarfed every day by many video games launched many years in the past. As of reporting, there are solely 28 gamers actively enjoying the sport on Steam, with a 24-hour peak of 110.
Within the weblog put up, the sport’s director Ryan Ellis confirms that Harmony will go offline on Sept. 6 and can now not be accessible to buy as of as we speak, Sept. 3, acknowledging that the sport’s efficiency failed to fulfill expectations.
“[While] many qualities of the expertise resonated with gamers, we additionally acknowledge that different points of the sport and our preliminary launch didn’t land the way in which we’d meant,” the put up says. “Subsequently, presently, we’ve determined to take the sport offline starting September 6, 2024, and discover choices, together with these that may higher attain our gamers.”
The weblog put up additionally confirms that anybody who bought the sport digitally might be eligible to obtain a refund, though anybody who bought a bodily model on disc might want to undergo the refund means of their particular retailer.
The scenario is a significant blow for Sony whose different massive multiplayer recreation of the 12 months, Helldivers 2, noticed viral success on-line after releasing in February. Many had questioned if Harmony might dwell as much as the lofty gross sales and participant depend of Helldivers 2, however the response was finally extra tepid.
Developed by Firewalk Studios, Harmony was rumored to have been in manufacturing for upwards of eight years, making the choice to drag the plug stunning regardless of its failure. Supposed as a giant franchise for Sony, the sport was receiving common updates for its first two weeks, together with new, totally motion-captured cinematic cutscenes to be added weekly. Whereas it resembles different multiplayer shooters like Overwatch 2 superficially, the massive finances scope of the sport and the formidable plans for its future content material rollout have been not like something seen beforehand in its style.
Though the sport is being pulled from storefronts and its servers are going offline, Sony and its builders stay obscure about its future. Might Harmony return in one other type? There’s a risk that it might come again as a free-to-play recreation, very like Bungie’s Future 2, one other aggressive multiplayer shooter that noticed a stagnant post-launch reception however discovered its viewers after being reworked as F2P.
However for now, followers of the sport could have lower than every week to say goodbye. Farewell, Harmony, we hardly knew thee.