Fun shooter games for heroes that were closed

Key conclusions

  • The hero shooter genre is facing challenges due to the oversaturation of the market with dominant franchises like Overwatch and Valorant.
  • Games like LawBreakers, Concord, Crucible and Rocket Arena have faced server shutdowns and poor sales despite their potential.
  • Even well-received hero shooters like Renaissance Heroes and Lemnis Gate failed to retain player bases, leading to server shutdowns.



The shooter genre has been popular in video games since the arcade days, but has really become a permanent staple in the industry with games like Loss, Golden eye 007as well as more recent titles such as Splatoon and Titanfall. However, there is one sub-genre of shooters that is sorely lacking these days: the character-based shooter.

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Popularized by names such as Team fortress 2the hero shooter is dominated by such franchises as Supervision and Valiant. Due to the oversaturation of the market, there are many great hero shooters that unfortunately don't last very long. All of these hero shooters have had their servers shut down at one point or another thanks to the monopoly of these much more popular games.


1 Violators of the law

This game has been removed forever

screenshot of lawbreakers


Violators of the law

systems

PC-1 PlayStation-1

Released
August 8, 2017

Developer(s)
Boss Key Productions

Violators of the law was released in August 2017, but within a year its online servers were down due to lack of funds. The game admittedly didn't bring much innovation to the hero shooter genre, with players taking on the role of a character on either Team Law or Team Breakers, with game modes like capture the flag, turf war, and even a ball game sport.

Despite the positive reviews, Violators of the law has been discontinued and removed from the Steam store after being free for a short period. Although director Cliff Bleszinski teased the future of the series, there likely isn't much of an audience for a hero shooter that hasn't been active in over five years these days.

2 Concord

It had to be Sony Supervision

concord developer is shutting down forever


systems

PC-1 PlayStation-1

Released
August 23, 2024

Developer(s)
Firewalk Studios

Compared to the previous game on this list, Concord had an even shorter service life. Sony spent nearly a decade developing the game, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in it and finally releasing it for PC and PlayStation 5 in August 2024. In just a few weeks, its terribly low sales led to the shutdown of the game's servers and its developer being shut down by Sony.

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It's a shame that Sony barely gave this game a chance to find its audience, given the inclusion of sixteen different playable characters of various alien races. The game even got some decent reviews despite a mixed reception, so for Sony to completely abandon it less than a month later is indicative of the company's overall poor development process.

3 Crucible

It was a victim of bad timing

Leto's character in The Crucible


Crucible

systems

PC-1

Released
May 21, 2020

The developer
Relentless studios

Amazon had high hopes for the first game from Amazon Game Studios. however, Crucible was perhaps a bit ambitious entering the fiercely competitive hero shooter market. The only thing that was different Crucible from these other more successful hero shooters was the absence of certain archetypes such as Healers or Tanks.

In addition to the game's major flaws, it was also unlucky to release in May 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In October of that year, Amazon shut down the game and even refunded all purchases, refocusing its video game development on 2021's MMORPG New worldwhich as of 2024 has fared much better.

4 The second wave

Fans want him to have a chance to improve

Players square off in the Second Wave


Platform(s)

PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, iOS, Android

Released

May 27, 2023

The developer

Challengers Games Co., Ltd.

Genre

Shooting game, role-playing game

Unfortunately for those who were charmed The second wavethe game never made it out of early access before it was pulled from the Steam store. The hero-based MOBA game features unique 3D anime-inspired characters with three game modes including a turf war, a three-way team fight, and a capture-the-flag-like game where players must keep control of the stones.

In addition to the unique art style, The second wave included customizable skins and even voice lines for its characters, and its reviews have been quite positive. Unfortunately, it didn't come as a surprise that many players cited expensive microtransactions and technical difficulties as the reason for the cancellation, even though there may have been room for improvement after exiting early access.


5 Battleborn

It's hard to live in Overwatch's shadow

Multiple heroes fight each other in Battleborn

Battleborn was an unfortunate hero shooter, given the fact that it was released in the same month as the highly anticipated Supervision. As a result, the game barely managed to build an audience, despite ​​some cool mechanics carried over from MOBA titles, including leveling up characters mid-match and bringing different sets of items into each battle.

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Amazingly, the game's servers remained online for several years, despite a drop in player numbers shortly after launch. The server was shut down in January 2021, although some fans tried to revive the game through a player-made remake, Battleborn Rebornwhich revived its single-player mode with the hope of someday including online PvP modes.


6 PWND

If only Tom Cruise could help

Riso after defeating Splice at PWND

Platform(s)

PC

Released

April 6, 2018

The developer

Skydance Interactive

Genre

Shooter

Don't let appearances be deceiving. Although gamers can head over to the Steam store right now and download PWNDThe game's servers have been closed since 2022. It's a strange fate for a video game by Skydance Interactive, the media company behind it Mission impossible and Top Gun: Maverickbut unfortunately good reviews couldn't save this doomed hero shooter 2018.


Although his roster only consisted of five playable characters, PWND couldn't maintain its user base even after going free-to-play in less than a year. Its failure can perhaps be attributed to the victory dance (or “PWN”) gimmick on players after killing them, which even fans who enjoyed the game got bored of after a short time playing it.

7 Lemnis Gate

This game is timed out

Lemnis Gate gameplay

Released
July 22, 2021

Developer(s)
Ratloop Games Canada

Lemnis gate When it was first released in 2021, it had many advantages. The game takes a different approach to hero-based arena shooters, including a time-loop mechanic where teams move between players completing the same objectives over a period of time, with the ability to assist teammates in future attempts to solve strategic puzzles.


Despite positive feedback about its ingenuity, Lemnis gate failed to meet sales expectations and failed to maintain a stable player base, shutting down servers in 2023. The developers didn't even respond to fans' pleas for local multiplayer servers to stay online, but in the end, it's just another vestige of a changing industry dominated by a few big multiplayer games.

8 Rocket arena

Its simplicity was its greatest trait and flaw

missile arena preview

Released
July 13, 2020

Developer(s)
Final Strike games

Rocket arena was released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2020, introducing a brand new hero shooter to the gaming industry where characters wield rocket launchers in 3v3 deathmatch or capture the flag modes. It even included cross-platform play right from the start upon release, but that wasn't enough to convince gamers to play it a few seasons later.


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Developing future updates for Rocket arena officially ceased in late 2023, and the game's servers were shut down in 2024. It's a disappointing fate for a game that was reportedly easy to learn and fun to play, but unfortunately didn't have enough content to attract gamers who were more than happy with other successful hero shooters.

9 Heroes of the Renaissance

It was a short and sweet experience for the fans

Two characters target each other in Renaissance Heroes

Platform(s)

PC

Released

February 19, 2013

The developer

Brideo

Genre

Shooter


Even avid fans of the hero shooter genre may never have heard of it Heroes of the Renaissancewhich was originally released for PC in 2013. Unfortunately, the game's original hero roster just wasn't charismatic enough to attract most of the audience to this 16th-century-based FPS with Deathmatch and Duel modes.

The game's lifespan didn't even last until late 2013, when the servers were shut down by the end of that summer. It remains a mystery why the game never got any traction, given that reviews were laudatory for its graphics and gameplay. Unfortunately, in a gaming industry that struggles to maintain diversity, a title with the word “Renaissance” in the title probably didn't appeal to younger gamers.

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