Phoenix Labs has announced that multiplayer monster-hunting action RPG Dauntless will shut down in May, and while the studio hasn't given a concrete reason for the game shutting down, it's easy to guess why it's happening.
In a rather terse message on Steam, Phoenix Labs simply says that Dauntless will shut down on May 29th and that it will receive "no additional content or updates". From May 29th, you'll no longer be able to play Dauntless.
It sounds like not only will there be no new content after the shutdown (naturally), but that the game won't be getting any major updates before then, either. In short, Dauntless is basically a dead game walking at this point.
So, why is Dauntless shutting down? Well, while Phoenix Labs doesn't give a reason (in either the official announcement or in a Discord message sent to players, apparently), we can make a very strong educated guess.
A quick look at Dauntless' Steam numbers (via SteamDB, as usual) shows an active player count of just 61, with 107 players checking into the game over the last 24 hours. It's clear players aren't exactly flocking to Dauntless right now.
A major reason for that is likely the controversial Awakening update, which was released in December and which quickly drew the ire of players. Dauntless fans criticized the update's approach to monetization and progression, among other things.
Following the Awakening update's poor reception, Phoenix Labs laid off "the majority" of its staff, leaving the future of games like Dauntless and Fae Farm uncertain. Now, the future of at least one of those games is a lot clearer.
As for Fae Farm, it's unclear whether support will continue for the cozy farming sim. Phoenix Labs isn't shutting down just yet, after all, although things aren't looking good for the studio.
In the meantime, if you need a monster hunting fix, you might want to check in with Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds, which launches later this week. Our own Tyler was impressed with the game, so it might well fill that Dauntless hole for you.
