Crucible (video game)

For other uses, see Crucible (disambiguation).

Crucible
Developer(s)Relentless Studios
Publisher(s)Amazon Game Studios
Director(s)Colin Johanson, Jason Stansell, James Ackley, DJ Stiner, Eric Flannum, Brady Houck [1]
Producer(s)Tre Fitzgerald, Jessica Antico Brasz, Andy Abramovici [1]
EngineAmazon Lumberyard
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseMay 20, 2020
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Crucible was a free-to-play multiplayer third-person shooter developed and published by Relentless Studios, a subsidiary of Amazon Game Studios.[2] It is Amazon's first major original title published by their gaming division, which had previously focused on tablet games. It became available for download on May 20, 2020, for Windows, after having been in development since 2014. The game returned to a closed beta status on June 30, 2020.[3] On October 9, 2020, Relentless Studios announced that development would be discontinued within one month.

Gameplay

Crucible was a hero shooter game.[4] Different playable characters, referred to as "hunters", impacted which abilities players had. Matches were team-based player versus player competitions, and the Alpha Hunters, Harvester Command, and Heart of Hives game modes all included player versus environment elements as well. Unlike other hero shooter games, there were no dedicated healer or tank characters, requiring all players to search for healing items during matches.[5]

Release

Because of COVID-19 the entire development team was working remotely at the time of the game's launch.[6] At launch, the game was in "pre-season" to allow developers to finetune the gaming experience.[6]

Reception

Crucible received mixed reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[7]

Cancellation

On October 9, 2020, Relentless Studios announced the cancellation of Crucible, citing the inability to see a sustained future as the reason for cancellation.[11] The studio offered full refunds for any purchases made and was subsequently shifted to aid development of Amazon's other upcoming title, New World. Matchmaking would be discontinued in late October, and custom game servers would be shut down on November 9 at noon PST.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Crucible Credits". Crucible. Amazon Game Studios. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  2. ^ Statt, Nick (May 5, 2020). "Amazon's Crucible is a free-to-play multiplayer game launching May 20th". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. ^ "Crucible is going back to the drawing board with a closed beta". Polygon. June 30, 2020. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Pocket-lint (May 20, 2020). "What is Crucible? Amazon's free-to-play hero shooter explored". Pocket-lint. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Campbell, Kyle (May 27, 2020). "Crucible Review". IGN. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Johanson, Colin. "Welcome to Crucible". Crucible. Amazon Game Studios. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Crucible for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Tack, Daniel (May 29, 2020). "Crucible Review – A Slow Struggle". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Barbosa, Alessandro (May 29, 2020). "Crucible Review - A Prime Disappointment". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  10. ^ Park, Morgan (May 27, 2020). "Crucible review". PC Gamer. Future US. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  11. ^ "Final Crucible Developer Update". Crucible. October 9, 2020. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Amazon is Officially Canceling 'Crucible' This November".