On May 20, Amazon released the online shooter Crucible on Steam. However, the game was received poorly. 43 days later, the company pulls the plug and reverts the online game back to beta status.
What happened at the launch of Crucible? The launch on May 20 did not go well. Due to technical issues, the game in Europe only launched on the morning of May 21. Subsequently, there was a lot of criticism that continues even today. This includes a lack of optimization and poor performance, the minimap and chat options are missing. The matchmaking is also criticized, as it is not easy to find suitable players.
Nevertheless, some believe that the Free2Play hero shooter Crucible could become a really good online shooter with a bit more work, not needing to hide behind big names like Apex Legends and Fortnite. However, significantly more fine-tuning is required.
Back to Beta for Amazon’s Crucible
How is Amazon responding now? According to Steamcharts, the player count of Crucible has dropped from a peak of 10,600 to just 183 in the last 24 hours, and the rating on Steam remains at a persistent criticism level of 43%.
Now, the developers have decided to put Crucible back into beta.
Today, on July 1, at 6 PM, the game will go into beta. It will then no longer be possible for new players to download and play it via Steam for the time being. However, existing players who already have Crucible can continue to play normally.
For Crucible, it’s back to the drawing board. Among other things, the following improvements and additions are planned:
- Voice and text chat
- A solution for AFK players
- Better tutorials
- Improvements to the combat system
- Minimap
- Custom games
- Performance optimizations
- Better matchmaking
What does the beta mean? During the new beta phase, the developers are working on improvements for the online shooter Crucible.
The team said:
We are establishing a community council made up of beta participants from all types of gameplay, from casual to high-performance players, with whom we will work particularly closely. One of the biggest changes you will see is that we will schedule a specific time each week for us as developers to play with the community and solicit feedback.
Colin Johanson, Franchise Lead
What do players think about the situation? Even though the situation seems absurd and it is unusual to revert a released game back to beta, players are actually responding quite positively:
- ottoginc explains on reddit: “This is something I’ve never experienced. A game reverting back to a closed beta status? That means something. I’m not quite sure, but it seems like there is still hope.”
- BmoreBreezy writes: “A smart move, and I’m sure it wasn’t easy to make. The future of the game will be better for it.”
- Serpientesolida87 thinks this should have happened sooner: “So they finally considered going to beta. Sad that it took them so damn long to change their minds, but better late than never.”
- TheNihilistGaming doesn’t see it quite so positively: “This could mean a slow demise of the game.”
When will Crucible return? There is currently no date for the new launch. The developers only state that the new version will be based on the feedback of the testers.
Want to know more about Amazon’s hero shooter? MeinMMO author Leya Jankowski took a look at Crucible and you can read her assessment in her article.
