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Smilegate's shooter joins the ranks of live service titles to announce their shut downs this week.

Justin Carter, Contributing Editor

February 3, 2023

2 Min Read
Promo art for Smilegate Entertainment's Crossfire X.

The Xbox-exclusive shooter CrossfireX will be shutting down. Developer Smilegate Entertainment confirmed that online services would end on May 18. 

A week from today, February 3, the game will be a full year old. 

"While our team worked hard to push out numerous content updates including fixes, new maps... the game was ultimately not where it needed to be," wrote Smilegate. "As a result, we have made the difficult decision to close the game."

CrossfireX was a free-to-play multiplayer installment of Smilegate's Crossfire tactical shooter series. In addition to multiplayer, CrossfireX also had a single-player component developed by Alan Wake creator Remedy Entertainment. Smilegate confirmed the two campaigns for the game will also shut down on May 18. 

The developer has halted all sales of CrossfireX effective immediately, and confirmed that no new modes, maps, or in-game skins would release between now and the game's end date. Purchases made in the two weeks before today (February 3) are potentially eligible for a refund. 

Not so live service after all

CrossfireX is another live service title this week that announced it would be shutting down later in the year. 

At the start of February, EA announced it would be killing its mobile spinoffs of Apex Legends and Battlefield, though in the case of the former, it indicated another Android and iOS game may be developed in its place. 

Similarly, Meta announced the end to its VR battling game Echo VR from Ready at Dawn, which will turn six later this year. 

Finally, Velan Studios and Iron Galaxy announced that their respective cartoony multiplayer games, Knockout City and Rumbleversewill end service. Rumbleverse will end service in late February after launching nearly a year ago, and Knockout  plans to shut down on June 6, over two years after its initial launch.

And while not technically a live service game, Turtle Rock announced it would stop making additional content for its zombie shooter, Back 4 Blood, and focus on its next large-scale project. The live service market is going through a tumultuous time, and with it being so early in the year, it seems likely more shutdowns are on the horizon.

About the Author(s)

Justin Carter

Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com

A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don't ask him about how much gum he's had, because the answer will be more than he's willing to admit.

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