Nobody likes it when their work goes to waste, but not every project comes to fruition. It's a sad reality in every industry, including the game industry. Sometimes a game just doesn't live up to the expectations of the developers and the players, and the developers just can't find a way to improve. Apparently, that's what's happened Crucible. Apparently neither Relentless Studios nor its mercantile titan of a publisher Amazon saw a future for Crucible, so the game's development is coming to an end. After all the struggles it went through in development, it's not entirely surprising, but it's still an unfortunate loss.
Crucible's fate is doubly important because of how it reflects on New World, which is Amazon Games' only other project right now. It's a very different game from Crucible and it has a long way to go in development, so the verdict is still out on how successful this game will be. The problem is the precedent that's been set about Crucible's quality and Amazon's level of dedication to the game. Rather than toughing it out and trying to get the shooter fixed, Amazon decided to let Crucible go. If New World doesn't live up to expectations, will history repeat itself?
Crucible's Downfall
Things have been looking bleak for Crucible for a long time. For a while, people were curious and willing to give Amazon a chance as a newcomer to the game market. The game itself, however, was labeled as a disappointment immediately, players listing a litany of flaws. The backlash was so strong that the developers made the shocking move to pull Crucible back into beta after release. It never came out of open beta after that.
All of this is certainly sad for Crucible and Relentless Studios, but it says a lot about Amazon's stance on its games too. It's not often that a newcomer publisher decides to abandon its first game before a proper release, discounting Crucible's brief stint outside of beta. However, Amazon Games isn't an indie publisher pulling itself up by its bootstraps and making tough financial decisions on the game. Amazon is one of the most lucrative companies in the world. Even so, Amazon apparently didn't think it was worth it to tough it out with Relentless and find a way to make Crucible work. Instead, it's taking on the losses and moving on.
An Anxious New World
Knowing how Amazon has behaved toward Crucible, fans of New World should be a little wary. Much like its fallen ally, New World has already faced some hiccups in development and won't be releasing until spring of next year. That's a lot of extra development time for a game that had initially planned on releasing this past summer. Maybe the team behind New World is anxious to prove itself to Amazon and ensure that the game is a success. There's definitely a lot of pressure on New World to impress players and critics, now that it's the only product that Amazon Games is putting out in the foreseeable future. Amazon itself is sure to have high standards for it too.
What's more, Amazon Games has already abandoned a game that the studio behind New World was working on. Those with keen memories might recall that years ago Amazon announced a MOBA called Breakaway that melded elements of League of Legends and Rocket League. That game is long gone. Amazon clearly wants to break into gaming, but ultimately, it seems to be struggling to commit to any one project. It'll have to learn to see its projects through or else it'll develop a reputation for flightiness among consumers. Maybe New World will be something Amazon can finally sink its teeth into, in spite of the lost love for Crucible.
Crucible is in closed beta for PC. Its servers will close on November 9.