Magic-based battle royale Spellbreak shutting down
UPDATE: Acquired by Blizzard to work on World of Warcraft.
UPDATE 1.30pm UK: Spellbreak developer Proletariat is being acquired by Blizzard, it has just been announced (thanks, Venturebeat).
All of Proletariat's 100-person staff will be enveloped into Blizzard's World of Warcraft team, including work on its upcoming Dragonflight expansion.
Blizzard previously absorbed Vicarious Visions, the talented studio behind various Activision titles including the recent Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2. That studio ultimately ended up working on Diablo franchise and has now been renamed Blizzard Albany.
ORIGINAL STORY 11.45am UK: Spellbreak, the battle royale where everyone is a wizard, will shut down in 2023.
The game's developer Proletariat confirmed Spellbreak's end in a blog post today, and confirmed that servers will go dark early next year.
"Breakers, after more than four years of elemental magic and spell combinations, we've made the decision to end development of Spellbreak," Proletariat wrote. "Thank you to the millions of players who have joined us in the Hollow Lands since 2018; it's been an amazing journey."
Eurogamer took a look at Spellbreak back in 2020, and found it to be pretty fun. Each match's early game included the usual battle royale scavenging for loot (here - elemental gauntlets to let you wield specific powers).
The effects of the game's elemental magic could then be wielded and used in combat, and combined to create some flashy results - such as electrical tornadoes, or toxic gas that was set on fire.
"Our vision was to create a fresh, multiplayer action-spellcasting game with exceptional movement and class customisation that would give players the chance to unleash their inner battlemage," Proletariat reflected today.
"Spellbreak was an ambitious project that saw our team push new boundaries in design and development and we are excited to continue to innovate as we create new titles in the future. To all Spellbreak fans around the world, thank you for the support and dedication that made the game and community so special."