With all the bad news out of NCsoft this week – and MMORPG players’ fixation on the fate of NCsoft’s core MMORPGs – it would’ve been easy to skip over the news that the company is shuttering several of its in-development non-MMO titles, especially since most of them were never westwardbound anyway. But Battle Crush was most definitely playable here, and unfortunately, it’s one of the titles affected, as NCsoft has now announced its sunset.
“The service closure of Battle Crush is scheduled at 4:00 PM on Friday, November 29, 2024 (KST). Thank you to all who have enjoyed Battle Crush. We are sorry to let you know that it is time to say goodbye.”
To its credit, NCsoft is offering refunds: “All products purchased from 4:00 PM on Thursday, June 27, 2024 (KST) to 4:00 PM on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 (KST) will be cancelled and refunded.” More details are apparently coming next week. Cash shop sales have already shut down as of today.
Battle Crush was a battle royale-esque MOBA that hit early access in the west this past summer; while PC reviews were initially dismal owing to pay-to-win accusations, our own Fight or Kite columnist thought it was pretty cute for the type of title it was, sandwiched between Fortnite and Brawl Stars. But the population on Steam was always tiny, which is presumably what led the company to announce an upcoming solo play mode.
As MOP reader Boostervii points out, the announcement seems to have taken Battle Crush’s own developers by surprise, as they had to cancel a new event as a result of the impending closure. However, we do note that even during the NCsoft Q2 financial call in August, investors were getting antsy about the apparent failure of the game, so NCsoft execs knew, if the team didn’t.
An NCsoft spokesperson reportedly told Korean gaming site GameMecca that the company is also “halting the development of Project M, Miniverse, and Doguri Adventure.”
