Disintegration is ending multiplayer support

(Image credit: V1 Interactive)

The FPS/RTS hybrid Disintegration did not knock our socks off when we previewed it in February, and it landed with a thud when it came out in June. Developer V1 Interactive tried to get the ball rolling with a free weekend—never a good sign for a game that's only a month old—but that failed to spark any lasting interest, and today V1 and publisher Private Division announced that they're pulling the plug on multiplayer support.

"We have made the difficult decision to remove Disintegration’s multiplayer modes from the game across all platforms. This will be done in phases over the coming months, starting today with the removal of the in-game store, and will conclude on November 17th with the full removal of multiplayer," they said in a combined statement at disintegrationgame.com. "The single player campaign will remain fully playable moving forward."

"From both the development team at V1 Interactive and publishing group at Private Division, we stand by the creative risks taken to launch such a unique, genre-bending game created by this small but talented and passionate team. While our player base showed interest in the single player campaign, the game unfortunately struggled to build a significant audience necessary for a compelling multiplayer experience."

It's an unfortunate end, and also a bit surprising given that Disintegration received considerable hype when it was announced as being headed by former Halo creative director Marcus Lehto and SOCOM director Mike Gutmann. But it never seemed able to distinguish itself to players. According to Steam Charts, Disintegration had a peak concurrent player count of just 120 when it launched in June; that bounced to 539 on the first day of the free weekend, but by the following Monday it was back down to low double-digits. Its peak concurrent player count over the past 30 days was just 27.

While the in-game store is gone, current Disintegration players will have until November 17 to redeem any credits they've earned or purchased in the game. After that, all multiplayer options, including crews and maps, will be removed. Details (although that's really about it) and a link to Private Division's customer support for any required further help are available in the "multiplayer sunsetting FAQ."

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.