Come February next year, Total War ARENA will call it quits after failing to meet “expectations”, according to a statement from developer Creative Assembly. A collaboration between the studio, SEGA and Wargaming, ARENA set out to be a “massive and fast-paced” RTS. However, it appears to have fallen short of its goals over the course of its open beta.
Much like other titles in the Total War series, ARENA featured large-scale battles between historical armies composed of hundreds of units, with ARENA itself set in a period similar to Rome: Total War.
ARENA‘s point of difference was a heavy multiplayer focus, allowing up to 20 players — 10 per side — to go at it, with each controlling heroes from Greece, Rome and Carthage, including Julius Caesar, Hannibal and Cynane.
Sounds decent enough, especially with CA at the helm. Sadly, the game didn’t pan out during the open beta, according to a statement yesterday from the developer’s Joshua Williams:
ARENA has been on a long journey, and we are thankful to everyone who joined us. We have learned so much during the development of ARENA and we have grown incredibly close with the community and involved you deeply into our development process.
It has been an absolute privilege to work with you all on this project, but unfortunately the results of ARENA Open Beta Test did not meet all our expectations.
Williams goes on to say that active development will end immediately, with the game itself shutting down come February 22, 2019 — a year or so after its debut.
As consolation, CA is offering players a free game, chosen from the following list:
- Total War: MEDIEVAL II — Definitive Edition
- Hannibal at the Gates (Total War: ROME II DLC)
- Age of Charlemagne (Total War: ATTILA DLC)
- Grim and the Grave (Total War: WARHAMMER DLC)
Specific details on how to claim can be found on the Total War website.
It’s always a shame when a game doesn’t meet the expectations of developers or players, but it’s arguably better to stick a fork in it, rather than waste everyone’s time.
ARENA is ceasing live services February 2019 [Total War ARENA]
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