Just 3 months after it launched in Early Access, PlanetSide Arena is closing down

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"We remain deeply committed to this franchise"

(Image credit: Daybreak Games)

PlanetSide Arena only released in Early Access on September 19, 2019, but Daybreak Games has already decided it's time to pull the plug on the ambitious sci-fi arena shooter, stating low player numbers "make it impossible to sustain the gameplay experience we envisioned". The servers will close down permanently on January 10, 2020.

In preparation for the closure, the team said it has already removed all DLC and hard currency purchase options from Steam, and it is "actively working with Steam" to make sure that anyone who made in-game purchases during the early access period will "automatically receive a full refund to their steam wallets".

While you will still be able to spend any virtual currency you have – be that Battle Coins or Certs you've earned through gameplay – you only have until January 10, 2020, to get your money's worth, as at 5pm PT on that date (1am on the morning of January 11, 2020, in the UK) the servers will be switched off.

"After careful consideration, we've made the difficult decision to shut down PlanetSide Arena servers," said executive producer Andy Sites in a statement on Steam (thanks Blue via VG24/7). "While our team set out with an ambitious vision for a game that combined the massive-scale combat and camaraderie of PlanetSide through a diverse collection of new game modes, it has become clear after several months in Early Access that our population levels make it impossible to sustain the gameplay experience we envisioned.

"As a result, PlanetSide Arena will formally shut down servers on January 10th, 2020 at 5:00 PM (PST). We are actively working with Steam to ensure that all players who made purchases during Early Access will automatically receive a full refund to their Steam Wallet after servers shut down in January."

Planetside Arena's Early Access launched, after multiple delays, with two team-based 300-player battle royale modes. A development letter, cinematic trailer, and a year one roadmap detailed what early buyers could expect, which had originally included plans for a 12-player per-team Squads mode and a 3-player per-team Teams mode.

"Thank you again for your loyalty and support during Beta and Early Access," Sites added. "Your feedback was invaluable, and your enduring passion for PlanetSide remains the bedrock our community is built upon. As painful as it is to close this chapter so quickly, we remain deeply committed to this franchise and look forward to continuing this journey through the PlanetSide Universe with all of you."

Vikki Blake
Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.