Undead Labs’ early access Moonrise is cancelled

Servers shut down on December 31

Recommended Videos

Remember Moonrise? It was that almost-Pokémon game from Undead Labs, the developer of State of Decay. It released into early access back in May, promising a tactical new take on the monster-collecting genre.

However, it looks like it hasn’t been quite as successful as Undead Labs would’ve liked, as the game’s been cancelled. Changes will be made to the game to allow existing players to enjoy it, but a full commercial release won’t be happening.

The reasons for the cancellation are detailed in a blogpost by Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain. Essentially, not enough people were sticking with it. An online multiplayer game can be ridiculously expensive to run, and if there isn’t a big enough dedicated player base, there isn’t any incentive to keep the servers on:

…for an online game with significant server hosting costs and an expectation for ongoing development and new content, [a small player base] can mean a game that not only doesn’t pay for its development costs, but might even cost money to operate.

The game will now become a weird experimental playground, where the developers are free to add in the new monsters and locations they were planning, as well as giving everyone some free cash for the micro-transaction store. On December 31, the servers will shut down and the game will then be unavailable.

Farewell, Moonrise. We hardly knew ye.


Destructoid is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Narrative studio Deck Nine Games lays off 20% of its staff
Chloe Price in Life Is Strange
Read Article Berserk Boy looks like a high-speed spin on Mega Man Zero
Berserk Boy
Read Article Best games that you’ll finish in less than one hour
Stanley in his cubicle in The Stanley Parable.
Related Content
Read Article Narrative studio Deck Nine Games lays off 20% of its staff
Chloe Price in Life Is Strange
Read Article Berserk Boy looks like a high-speed spin on Mega Man Zero
Berserk Boy
Read Article Best games that you’ll finish in less than one hour
Stanley in his cubicle in The Stanley Parable.
Author