Summary
Other Ocean Interactive and Skybound Games, developer and publisher ofThe Walking Dead: Betrayal,have announced they will be stopping development on thesocial deduction gameand will be removing it from Steam. The announcement comes just three months after the game was released in early-access, much to the disappointment of fans and the development team.
Theasymmetrical multiplayer gamehinges on the collaboration of five to eight players as they tackle objectives with a traitor among them, attempting to derail their progress undetected. With the added tension of lingering walkers fromThe Walking Dead, players have their fair share of antagonists to overcome. However, player counts dwindled after their initial peak post-release, leaving the game and its players in a difficult position. With a peak of 21 players in the last month and the average daily player count lingering in the single digits, it is nearly impossible for this online multiplayer title to thrive.
Other Ocean Interactive and their publisher, Skybound Games, announced that they will cease development ofThe Walking Dead: Betrayal,with the process of removal from Steam beginning on December 11th and a full shutdown to be expected on December 15th. All players will be granted a full refund, either through Steam or the relevant retailer. Updates on acquiring refunds and the process of shutting down the game will be available on both the game’s official Discord serverand on Steam.
Afterthe success ofProject Winter,Other Ocean Interactive’s previous social strategy game, the struggle befallingThe Walking Dead: Betrayalis an unfortunate fallout. In their announcement, Skybound Games explained, “Despite the hard work put into the game, we were not able to find a path to build the spirited community of backstabbers we originally envisioned.” While the community may not have been large enough to uphold gameplay, there seem to be fans still disappointed in the removal of the game, as well as collectors insisting the game remain in their library.
For those who haveplayedProject Winter,the gameplay concept ofThe Walking Dead: Betrayalis familiar, yet with the added bonus of zombies, post-death play opportunities, and a franchise collaboration. With a similar gameplay concept and the addition of these new features, it is still being determined whyThe Walking Dead: Betrayaldid not amass a similarly sized community. Unfortunately, online multiplayer experiences require the dedicated fanbase that the developers anticipated, and after reflection on the situation, it was deemed the best path forward to cease development. Skybound Games thanked fans for playing and giving feedback and hopes to provide new experiences for their supporters and fans ofThe Walking Deadin the future.
