Ubisoft pulls the plug in April.
Ubisoft's free-to-play battle royale game Hyper Scape is closing less than two years after its launch. The developer announced the decision in a short blog post published today. The servers are scheduled to be shut down on April 28.
“We have made the difficult decision to end development of Hyper Scape and close the game as of April 28. We set out to create a vertical, close-range, and fast-paced shooter experience, and we're very grateful to our community for that. We will transfer what we learn from this game to future products.”
After making a splash on Twitch during the beta period (thanks in small part to having to watch streams to earn a beta key), Hyper Scape reached a small fanbase in August 2020. It aimed to stand out with its 100-player battle royale game. high mobility, futuristic city map, and a unique take on the "circle" mechanics that are gradually closing off certain areas, but most (me included) are turned off by their punishing combat. A few months after its launch, Ubisoft admitted that Hyper Scape was too difficult and boring.
As player numbers dwindled, Hyper Scape adapted, reducing the player count from 100 to 60 and emphasizing the well-received deathmatch mode. As rivals like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone have grown, the game has mostly been forgotten in the collective gaming consciousness. We don't have player numbers in Hyper Scape (something easy to check on Steam, but only on Epic and Uplay), but judging by Reddit's posts referring to small lobbies, it doesn't look like they have many players.
Hyper Scape may experience a minor concussion in the months leading up to its collapse. There's a lot to enjoy on a curious game night - the map is unique, it's fun to double jump freely in a battle royale game, and I remember a weird power-up where you turn into a ball.
April will mark the end of Ubisoft's first battle royale experiment. Hyper Scape is a good reminder that battle royale games are inherently risky business: the genre requires a high player count, which can be incredibly difficult to maintain unless the game is immediately popular. Ubi launched Hyper Scape into the already crowded field of good battle royale games with dedicated player bases. Getting people away from Fortnite, Warzone, and Apex and filling 100-player lobbies takes more than "pretty good".