Sadly, every year we have to say goodbye to a few games. Studios close down, titles fail to hit arbitrary metrics, and publishers shift priorities. To the players of these games, they're not just a way to pass the time. Each server shutdown is a group of people with an enjoyable shared interest they won't get to experience anymore. Join us as we remember some of the games we lost in 2025.
Multiversus
This one cuts me and my family of platform fighting game lovers really deeply. The dream of WB Smash Bros was so much fun while it lasted. But the writing was all over the Batcave wall when Player First Games announced its open beta was going away in 2023, to return with the "full version" in 2024. That plan worked about as well as you'd imagine. After a brief spike in player interest upon its return, Multiversus quickly fell to the same player numbers that spelled trouble to begin with.
In a sad irony, the final update to the game felt like the fighter we should have been playing all along. We never got to enjoy teased characters such as Daffy Duck, Fred Flintstone, or Scooby Dooby Doo. After losing more than $100 million, Multiversus delivered its final KO May 30, though it's still playable offline.
XDefiant
Ubisoft's "Call of Duty killer" launched with 8 million players in its first week back in May 2024, and it looked like we had a hot new shooter on our hands. XDefiant used factions from series such as Rainbow Six and Far Cry for something different than shooters currently on the market. That initial hype died rapidly during a time period in which almost everything Ubisoft touches turns to garbage. A lack of player progression beyond its battle pass doomed it, and XDefiant players earned their last killstreak in June.
Dauntless
This action RPG was in the Monster Hunter lane, only free-to-play. Many players believe its death warrant was signed when blockchain company Forte Labs purchased developer Phoenix Labs. The game's December 2024 Awakening update wiped player progress, and the community understandably rebelled at this nonsense. It turns out destroying your playerbase's characters and then asking them to continue playing was not a winning strategy, and Dauntless bowed out in May.
Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodhunt
In what will become a recurring theme in this article, Bloodhunt was a good game that struggled to stand out in a hypercompetitive genre. I loved having vampire battles in the streets of Prague. With different vampire classes and a wealth of weapons, this game was everything it promised. But in a field already dominated by the likes of Fortnite, it was just impossible to retain a player base. These servers don't officially shut down until April 26, but I'm going to go ahead and place it in this story since Sharkmob has already announced it. Unfortunately, one thing we don't lack in any year is a number of games closing down, alongside the inevitable layoffs that follow.
Steelhunters
Wargaming, famous for World of Warships and World of Tanks, got a little sci-fi going with this mech combat game. With Wargaming's pedigree, surely it would work? This one died a quick death, shutting down in October, only three months after its release. It reached a peak concurrent player count of just over 4,000 on Steam. At the end of the day, both the shooter and mech genres are saturated, and Steelhunters just didn't show players of either anything they hadn't seen before.
Realm Royale Reforged
Remember what I said about the battle royale genre being way too crowded? Realm Royale started as a spinoff of hero shooter Paladins and was popular enough to get its own separate release. But it couldn't maintain momentum in the battle royale space, and a round of layoffs would see Hi-Rez Studios refocusing primarily on its MOBA, Smite 2.
Ironsight
This was a free-to-play shooter that tried to capture the vibe of earlier Call of Duty games. While it often seems that nobody hates COD as much as COD players, Ironsight was always going to have a tough time peeling away players from the world's most popular military shooter franchise. Its servers shutdown in August.
Skyforge
This free-to-play MMO challenged players with ascending to godhood. Being immortal apparently was more trouble than it was worth to a lot of folks, as the playerbase had dwindled to under 20 on Steam. It's a shame, as this one lasted over 10 years. Also, it came to consoles in 2017, and there are precious few MMOs on consoles these days. Skyforge ascended for the final time in October.