PlayStation has unexpectedly pulled the plug on Destruction AllStars, a live-service game released during the PS5’s launch window. The game is no longer available for sale and its servers have been shut down. Those who still own the game can still play the game’s arcade mode, going up against bots offline.
Typically, these kinds of shutdowns are announced ahead of time to give players a chance to buy the game or rally others together for some final online matches, but Destruction AllStars was delisted and shut down seemingly simultaneously. Players were notified via PlayStation notifications. (The game’s social media account hasn’t been active since 2022, when X was still Twitter.)
Destruction AllStars came out in 2021 and received a mixed reception. Despite releasing during a drought of games, early PS5 adopters largely rejected the game, even after PlayStation Plus subscribers were given two free months. We gave the game a 6/10 in our review, noting that although the game had some decent fundamentals, it failed to rise to the occasion as a compelling package.
“Destruction AllStars can provide short bursts of action-packed chaos that are at their most fun when kept simple,” reads our review. “The driving and vehicle-to-vehicle combat are highly enjoyable when you’re slamming into other cars at high speed, but they wear thin quickly and offer very little else on closer inspection and the on-foot gameplay you’re forced into too often feels pointless. There’s the basis of a great party game here too, but at launch it’s far too shallow an experience for Destruction AllStars to be considered one right now.”
Destruction AllStars was developed by Lucid Games, a studio formed by ex-Bizarre Creations developers after Activision tried to sell the studio but failed to find a suitable buyer. The team has a background in vehicle-based games, such as Project Gotham Racing and Blur. Destruction AllStars was different from those games, opting to be more of a destruction derby-style game with on-foot gameplay. Lucid hasn’t released its own game since Destruction AllStar’s release in 2021, but has helped out with other games such as Sea of Thieves.
The news comes just days after Bungie announced it was winding down support on Destiny 2 and reports that Bungie would suffer “significant” layoffs. Although the two instances don’t appear to be directly related, it does signal that PlayStation’s live-service efforts haven’t been a success. Helldivers 2 and Gran Turismo 7 appear to be PlayStation’s only successful live-service games to date. Fairgames is heavily speculated to be getting a re-reveal with a new name very soon.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
