“(While) many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch did not resonate as we intended,” the message read. “As a result, we have decided to take the game offline as of September 6, 2024, and explore options, including options that better reach our players.”

The blog post also confirms that anyone who purchased the game digitally is eligible for a refund. However, those who purchased a physical disc version will need to go through their specific retailer’s refund process.

The situation is a major blow to Sony, whose other big multiplayer game of the year, Helldivers 2saw viral success online after its release in February. Many had wondered if Treaty could meet the high sales figures and player count of Helldivers 2but the response was ultimately lukewarm.

Developed by Firewalk Studios, Treaty It was rumored to have been in production for over eight years, making the decision to pull the plug surprising despite its failure. Intended to be a major franchise for Sony, the game received regular updates for its first two weeks, including new, fully motion-captured cinematic cutscenes added weekly. While it resembles other multiplayer shooters such as Overwatch2 At first glance, the game’s large budget and ambitious plans for future content were unlike anything we’d seen in the genre to date.

Although the game is being pulled from stores and its servers are being taken offline, Sony and its developers remain vague about its future. Treaty return in some form? There’s a possibility it could come back as a free-to-play game, like Bungie’s Lot 2another competitive multiplayer shooter that wasn’t very popular upon launch, but found an audience after being reworked as a F2P game.

But for now, fans of the game have less than a week to say goodbye. Goodbye, Treatywe barely knew you.