Spectre Divide, a tactical shooter game backed by streaming star Michael ‘shroud‘ Grzesiek, is closing down only six months after its launch. The game’s developer, Mountaintop Studios, is also shutting down operations due to low player numbers and insufficient revenue.
The 3v3 tactical shooter went live in September 2024 and attracted around 400,000 players in its first week, with a peak of about 30,000 concurrent players. However, these numbers quickly dropped, and the game struggled to maintain even 4,000 concurrent players in the months that followed.
On March 12, Mountaintop Studios CEO Nate Mitchell announced the closure in a letter to players. “Unfortunately, the Season 1 launch hasn’t achieved the level of success we needed to sustain the game and keep Mountaintop afloat,” Mitchell explained. The game will be taken offline within the next 30 days, and the studio will close its doors at the end of this week.
According to Mitchell’s statement, the game simply couldn’t generate enough revenue to cover its operating costs. “We haven’t seen enough active players and incoming revenue to cover the day-to-day costs of Spectre and the studio,” he noted. The team had tried various solutions, including seeking outside investment, partnering with a publisher, and even looking for acquisition opportunities, but none of these efforts were successful.
What made Spectre Divide unique was its “duality” feature, allowing players to control two characters at once. This innovative concept initially sparked interest, but it wasn’t enough to keep players engaged long-term. Some players felt the feature was more of a gimmick than a meaningful addition to gameplay.
The game also faced technical issues upon release. Reports indicate that Spectre Divide was plagued by bugs and glitches that turned away potential players. Even a free-to-play model couldn’t overcome these obstacles.
Some fans were also disappointed by shroud’s apparent lack of support for the game. Despite being the face of Spectre Divide during its launch, the popular streamer was seen playing other games like Deadlock and Marvel Rivals instead of promoting the title he had backed.
Mountaintop Studios has announced that any purchases made since the Season 1 update will be refunded, and in-game purchasing will be disabled immediately.
This closure follows a concerning trend in the gaming industry. Other recent titles like PlayStation’s Concord and Ubisoft’s XDefiant have met similar fates, struggling to maintain player interest in the competitive live-service market. As Mitchell put it, “The industry is in a tough spot right now.”
