Just one year after its release, the mecha shooter Gundam Evolution is about to go offline. The developers have announced that they will be shutting down the game in November

It’s been less than a year since publisher Bandai Namco gave the popular Gundam franchise (Gundam Evolution) a modern shooter adaptation for the PC and the current generation of consoles. Now the game is facing cancellation.

As executive producer Kazuya Maruyama has now announced in a (statement on the game’s website) the lights will go out forever in Gundam Evolution on 29 November 2023 Literally, Maruyama wrote:

It is with great sadness that we hereby announce the end of Gundam Evolution. We wanted to create a title that would bring FPS fans and Gundam fans together. We set ourselves the challenge of creating an authentic Gundam FPS game that can be played all over the world.

Unfortunately, we have found that it is no longer possible for us to provide a service that satisfies our players.

What’s the problem?

The reason for this drastic decision was probably the low number of players  At the time of writing, there were just 239 players online in Gundam Evolution. The game had its peak at launch with 56,900 players. After that, the numbers went steeply downhill.

On Steam, many users complain about long matchmaking waiting times of up to one hour. New unlocks require far too much playing time and the matches are now often poorly balanced. The monetisation is also criticised Accordingly, only (52 percent of the reviews on Steam) are positive.

“So much potential “

At the same time, the shooter definitely had what it takes to be a hit. Colleague Dimi is a huge Gundam fan and says: “The game had such potential at launch – big playerbase, awesome gameplay, great balance – and threw it all in the trash due to extremely rigid Free2Play restrictions and lack of new content. A shame.”

With its fast-paced combat, various mechas and special abilities, Gundam Evolution feels a lot like Blizzard’s hero shooter Overwatch. If you want to take a look, you can find our gameplay video here:

What happens until the shutdown?

Although the game will be winding down in November, Bandai plans to roll out two more Seasons for the shooter before then. The sixth Season, which includes a new unit and two fresh maps, is scheduled to launch on 23 August The seventh and final Season should then follow on 25 October and bring another unit and a map.

On 26 July, all in-game purchases are to be switched off Players who have previously purchased in-game currency will still be able to use it until the servers are shut down. After the closure of the shop, Bandai plans to drastically increase the chances of unlocking new Mobile Suits once again

What do you think about the shutdown of Gandam Evolution? Are you mecha fans and mourning now? Have you even tried the shooter yet? Feel free to write it to us in the comments.

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