Summary
Continuing the trend of studio closures, layoffs, and game cancelations in 2023, the social deduction gameDread Hungerhas ended support for official servers. Whilesocial deduction video gameshave proven popular in recent years, the gaming industry has seen both AAA and indie studios struggling to keep up with rising costs.
Launched in early access in April 2021,Dread Hungerwas a social deduction game that saw players take on the role of Explorers surviving aboard a wayward vessel in the Arctic, as they fight to determine who is a traitor and who remains loyal to the Expedition. The game fully released in 2022, but the developer has now ended support for the official servers.
Noting rising server costs and repeated DDOS attacks, theDread Hungerdevelopers ended supportfor the official servers on January 1. The game currently holds “Mixed” reviews on Steam, with many comments highlighting the difficulty of random online matchmaking and long wait times between spawns. With players facing varying challenges with the differentclasses inDread Hunger, fans felt that the game was too imbalanced to make for an enjoyable experience. In spite of complications, the game had a dedicated fanbase, and audiences have been saddened by the end of developer support forDread Hunger.
While the officialSteamservers for Dread Hunger closed on January 1, theoriginal announcement of the shutdowncame back in November 2023. The studio noted repeated DDOS attacks as one of the main reasons for the servers needing to be shut down, though the mention of rising maintenance costs for official servers raised a few eyebrows. The developer has assured fans that the studio is working to share the necessary files for players to set up and use community servers, which would allow audiences to continue playing the game without support from the developer. Multiple companies saw massive layoffs and shutdowns in 2023, frequently due to backend issues and financial reasons, and it would seem thatDread Hungerhas been forced to face a similar fate.
As fans look forward to upcoming game releases in 2024, it seems that the unfortunate trend of industry struggles has already started to carry over from 2023. Indie developers were not the only studios to suffer from financial and structural complications, as major companies like Sony and evenEmbracer Group got hit by layoffs. Whether the end of official server support forDread Hungeris an indicator of what the gaming industry will face in 2024 remains to be seen, but many are hoping that the negative trends of 2023 will stay in the past.
Steam
Steam is a digital video game storefront and program developed by Valve that allows gamers to purchase, play, and mod their titles all through one convenient program.
