A free-to-play multiplayer shooter on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox will be shutting down, as Bandai Namco has confirmed it's bringing Gundam Evolution to the end of its lifespan. Bandai Namco says that Gundam Evolution will be shut down in November, just over one year after the game's launch. The developers of Gundam Evolution thank all the game's players for their support but say that future development can't be sustained in a way that will keep players happy.Gundam Evolution is a free-to-play team-based shooter with six players facing off against six opponents in objective-focused match types. It is, in many ways, an Overwatch-inspired Gundam game where the characters are replaced with mobile suits. Each mobile suit is drawn from popular Gundam anime, manga, and video games, and wields weapons and powers taken directly from its source material. Gundam Evolution also featured an in-game battle pass for monetization, as well as loot boxes for unlocking content of different rarities.The development team at Bandai Namco Online announced Thursday morning that Gundam Evolution's online service will officially end on November 29. The game will remain live and available to play across all platforms, which include PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, until that date. In explanation for the decision, Bandai Namco says that it is "no longer possible for us to provide a service that satisfies our players."
Updates for Gundam Evolution will continue to be issued in Season 6, which starts on August 23, and in the game's final season, starting October 25. A new playable Gundam mobile suit will be added with both updates, and two and one new maps, respectively. Bandai Namco says that it wants to ensure that Gundam Evolution players can enjoy the game to its fullest "till the very end." A final Mission Briefing livestream will be held on July 21 at 11:00 PM PT to discuss all remaining plans for Gundam Evolution.
An apology is also written into the announcement, from the development team at Bandai Namco Online. While the apology doesn't go into the team's feelings, or explore what may have gone wrong or what could have been different, the team does express gratitude to all of Gundam Evolution's players. It can't be easy for developers to shut down a game that hasn't even been live for a year.
The writing has unfortunately been on the wall for Gundam Evolution for some time. At least on Steam, concurrent players of Gundam Evolution went from a healthy 56,000 down to less than 2,000 within two months. Gundam Evolution received mixed reviews, with criticism focused on matchmaking, balance, slow updates, and uncharitable monetization. Unlocking new mobile suits, often the strongest Gundam units in the game, was especially time-consuming and difficult without paying real money. Unfortunately, the time for Gundam Evolution to receive improvements has passed.
Gundam Evolution is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
