Stormgate is set to lose its online multiplayer mode support at the end of April, publisher and developer Frost Giant Studios has announced. An offline mode patch will be deployed, ensuring that anyone interested can continue playing the free-to-play real-time strategy game.
Stormgate’s online modes will become unavailable as a result of server provider Hathora being purchased by an AI company and shifting its focus.
Free-to-Play RTS Stormgate Loses Online Multiplayer Modes
“Our game server orchestration partner, Hathora, has been purchased by an AI company, and they are winding down their service at the end of April,” Stormgate’s community team wrote in the game’s official Discord server. “This will create a planned outage for Stormgate’s multiplayer modes.
“Stormgate will be patched so that it can be played offline, but online modes will not be available at that point.
Although the developer hopes to bring back online functionality to its real-time strategy game, it did clarify that “this work will be dependent on Frost Giant finding a partner to support ongoing operations.”
It’s no surprise for anyone following Stormgate that, despite having Blizzard veterans behind it, the project failed to reach the popularity of Starcraft 2, the seminal RTS that served as its inspiration.
A divisive art style and approach to early access development resulted in a lot of friction between the developers and fans who were harboring hopes that this would be the next big RTS. After failing to attract a significant crowd, concurrent player numbers remained low.
Although it received a community update in early March, Stormgate losing its online multiplayer modes makes its future a little more uncertain.
Its confirmed offline mode patch certainly counts as a silver lining for anyone looking to try it out, but it remains to be seen whether or not Frost Giant Studios will manage to restore functionality and continue developing the RTS going forward.
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