Nexon's Medieval Fantasy Brawler Warhaven Shutting Down 6 Months After Launching in Early Access

ign.com:

Nexon's medieval fantasy brawler Warhaven is shutting down on April 5, 2024, just six months after it launched on Steam in Early Access.

An update on Warhaven's Steam page announced the closure, though Nexon didn't explicitly say why it was happening. Described as a "visceral, brutal medieval fantasy combat experience" where teams of 16 players would take each other on with swords, arrows, and magic, Warhaven struggled to make a mark with middling reviews and a low player count.

"From the first alpha test in 2021 to the global Early Access in 2023, Warhaven has come this far thanks to everyone's love and support," Nexon said. "We want to express our gratitude for the love and care you have shown for Warhaven.

"To create a game that could be cherished and enjoyed over an extended period, we invested much consideration and effort. However, regrettably, we must bid our sincere farewell as of April 5, 2024. We apologise that we could not come to you with better news."

Warhaven currently has a "mixed" user review rating on Steam, with players pointing out balancing issues, struggling servers, and slow combat as reasons to not pick it up. There are lots of positive reviews too though. "The game runs smoothly and looks amazing visually, the characters all play very differently (although I haven't played them all yet), theres a nice variety of game modes, and there are some cool, unique mechanics like transforming into an immortal and using gliders or cannons to traverse the bigger maps," said one user.

Numbers have dwindled since its release, however. With a peak of 10,456 users upon its Early Access launch, Warhaven's numbers quickly fell and it currently has a 24 hour peak of just 171, according to SteamDB. Low player numbers like these are obviously a huge problem in a game that requires 32 players for the full experience.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.