The co-op dinosaur shooter by Systemic Reaction, Second Extinction, will cease development, and the game will not reach a 1.0 launch version. The company cites “unforeseen show-stopping issues” as the reason the game couldn’t transition out of Early Access and Game Preview. The announcement comes almost exactly three years after Second Extinction’s Early Access release on October 13, 2020.
For the time being, those who have purchased the game can continue to play until the servers are shut down sometime next year. The game has been removed from sale on various storefronts. This serves as another cautionary tale for always-online games. As expected, the game’s recent Steam reviews are overwhelmingly negative.
Dear Second Extinction Community,
We write to you today with a mix of emotions as we share important news about our future plans for the game. After thoughtful consideration and exploration of our best course of action, we have made the difficult decision to end active development of Second Extinction.
While Second Extinction is well-loved among our players and the gaming community, it regrettably did not achieve the success we hoped it would. Additionally, some unforeseen show-stopping issues prevented us from leaving Early Access and Game Preview.
As you may recall, we initially planned to launch the 1.0 version late last year, but the discovery of a few critical issues forced us to pull back close to the release. Unfortunately, it became clear that our small team lacked the resources necessary to hit our quality targets and exit Early Access and Game Preview, and the investment needed to do so was too large for us to bear. After evaluating our options and working during this year to find other potential solutions, this became the reality our team had to face.
Second Extinction will be removed from sale on storefronts but the game servers will remain active for the time being, allowing everyone who purchased Second Extinction to continue playing solo or with friends. We will eventually take the servers down later next year, but we’ll communicate this well in advance once we have more information.
As game developers, we always try to highlight our wins – but sometimes we also need to celebrate our failures. Although Second Extinction did not achieve the goals we aspired to, it remains a success for us on many levels. Our small team turned an innovative concept into a fast-paced, fun experience that is amazing when shared with friends. And when it’s all said and done, our mission is to bring this kind of joy to players everywhere in creative, explosive ways. In addition, Second Extinction has been a major learning experience for us. We’ve come away with a list of things that worked incredibly well, and things we know to avoid for future projects. One thing is for certain – while Second Extinction may be coming to a close, our commitment to crafting memorable moments that capture the magic of gaming will never fade.
Although this isn’t the outcome any of us hoped for, we want to assure you that there are no layoffs associated with this decision. The passion, talent, and skill of the team who worked on Second Extinction is being put to good use on other projects across Avalanche Studios Group. We ask for your understanding and compassion towards the team members involved on the project who poured their hearts into this game as we move on to our next adventures.
Thank you for being a part of this journey, and for your unwavering support. We are eternally grateful to have had you by our side.
Thanks for the memories,
Systemic Reaction
