Systemic Reaction has announced that they have canceled further development on their multiplayer dinosaur FPS, Second Extinction, and has removed it from sale on marketplaces. Servers are set to close down for it in 2024.
Second Extinction entered Early Access in October 2020, and never really left. The initial goal was to fully launch late last year, but that got delayed due to “critical issues.” After assessing things, the team has decided just to drop it and move on.
“Unfortunately, it became clear that our small team lacked the resources necessary to hit our quality targets and exit Early Access and Game Preview, and the investment needed to do so was too large for us to bear. After evaluating our options and working during this year to find other potential solutions, this became the reality our team had to face.”
Interestingly, Systemic Reaction is part of Avalanche Studios Group, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Nordisk Film. If we take them by their word, then that must be one hell of a corner they painted themselves into.
Every cloud, I guess
While the cancellation of a game that people have already paid for is pretty crappy, there is one silver lining here:
“Although this isn’t the outcome any of us hoped for, we want to assure you that there are no layoffs associated with this decision.”
Ideally, studios should be able to make mistakes and be able to turn around from it. It’s just not a great look when the expense is all on their supporters. The developer doesn’t really have the best track record to begin with, having made Generation Zero and Ravenbound, neither of which got the best reception. Perhaps that’s part of the decision to can Second Extinction.
Nonetheless, there’s always a chance for a developer to turn things around, and here’s hoping that Systemic Reaction can do just that and gain back the trust of the supporters who might feel burned by this cancellation.
