Amazon has discontinued development on its online multiplayer video game "Crucible" five months after its debut. The "Fortnite" competitor launched on May 20 but was placed into "closed beta" a month later. Now, Amazon says it discontinued development entirely after the game failed to meet expectations.
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- The free-to-play shooter was Amazon's first AAA title and a supposed rival to games like "Call of Duty," "Valorant," and "Overwatch."
- One week after launch, it had fewer than 5,000 players on average and disappeared from Steam's 100 most-played games, prompting Amazon to pull it from digital stores and put it back into closed beta.
- Any closed beta players will be able to play the game "for a short while." A final playtest and community celebration will take place in the coming weeks before custom games end and servers are shut down on Nov. 9.
- Amazon is offering full refunds for any in-game purchases, via Steam or Amazon.
- The Crucible development team will begin work on another Amazon game – the open-world MMO PC game "New World" – which is due out for release in 2021.
- Amazon launched its cloud gaming service, Luna, last month.