Skip to main content

Beleaguered Loot Drop announces Ghost Recon Commander cancellation

 Ghost Recon Commander

Though the name might not be immediately familiar, you’ve likely got some level of existing knowledge about developer Loot Drop. This is a company headed by John Romero, Tom Hall and Brenda Brathwaite, a trio of game industry veterans who have collectively worked on titles like DOOM, Quake and the Wizardy series. In short, these three have had a hand in numerous very important game releases over the past few decades.

With that kind of pedigree you’d expect that everything Loot Drop touches would turn to gold. However, the recent past has proven a bit rocky for the firm. You may recall a report we published on October 22, that detailed the cancellation of a Kickstarter project the firm had created. A Kickstarter cancellation by itself wouldn’t be interesting news, but in this case the project had already pulled in nearly $250,000 and still had 13 days to go before its timer ran down. At that time Brathwaite and Hall posted an update to the Kickstarter project page explaining the cancellation.

“Ultimately, our pitch just wasn’t strong enough to get the traction we felt it needed to thrive,” the update states. “Sure, it may have made it. We could have fought our way to a possibly successful end. In reading your feedback and talking it over internally, however, we decided that it made more sense to kill it and come back with something stronger.”

Whatever the reason, this cancellation comes with unfortunate timing, as now, a mere week and a half later, Loot Drop has announced the cancellation of yet another game. Specifically, we’re talking about Ghost Recon Commander, a Facebook-based strategy title that, as its title would suggest, was a part of Ubisoft’s vast Ghost Recon franchise. Unlike the previous Kickstarter debacle however, Loot Drop offers no explanation for the cancellation. Instead, we’re left with a succinct Facebook message:

Sad news. Today, Ghost Recon Commander was cancelled. As a result, we laid off a team of awesome developers. If you have openings, especially in SF, ping me, or add your info after this post. Coders, artists, amazing assistant designer, and awesome QA guy.

Bizarrely, this cancellation announcement appeared on the same day that the Loot Drop website was updated to announce that Ghost Recon Commander had “tied with Draw Something for the runner up slot in the Best Free to Play Game in the Golden Joystick Awards.” Why post such a thing if your game is mere hours away from cancellation? Or does the timing of these announcements indicate that this cancellation caught Loot Drop’s employees by surprise?

Based on what scant information we’ve been given any speculation on what’s happening at Loot Drop would be wildly premature, but we’ve got our fingers crossed that Loot Drop can turn things around in the near future. Or, at the very least, that we won’t be back here next week detailing the cancellation of yet another Loot Drop title. 

Editors' Recommendations

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
How to start the Nuka-World DLC in Fallout 4
People standing outside Nuka World.

The first major DLC expansion for Fallout 4 lets players go to the abandoned amusement park called Nuka-World. While there's plenty of fun and excitement to be had here, don't expect it to come from the roller coasters or carnival games since this park is the battleground between rival raider gangs. This new zone adds a ton of new quests and side activities to the base experience, but it isn't as simple to get to as a real theme park. Don't worry if your Pip-Boy isn't helping you get to Nuka-World -- we'll show you how to start this DLC.

Read more
How to start the Automatron DLC in Fallout 4
A man and a robot walking in the wastelands in Fallout 4.

Each piece of Fallout 4 DLC adds something substantial to the base experience. In the case of the Automatron expansion, an entire new questline pitting you against a robot army led by a figure known as the Mechanist. Starting it isn't as difficult as starting other DLCs like the Nuka-World expansion, but it-s still a bit cryptic. Buying the DLC doesn't automatically make it apparent how to actually start this new adventure, but we'll give you specific directions to find it in the wasteland.

Read more
One of 2023’s best indie games is getting a movie starring LaKeith Stanfield
James descends on an elevator in El Paso, Elsewhere.

El Paso, Elsewhere, one of Digital Trends' favorite indie games of 2023, now has a film adaptation in the works.

Variety reports that LaKeith Stanfield -- an actor known for his work in films like Judas and the Black Messiah, Knives Out, and Haunted Mansion, as well as TV shows like Atlanta -- is going to star in and produce the film. The adaptation is in the works at Di Bonaventure Pictures, the production company behind the Transformers, G.I. Joe, and The Meg film franchises. Little else is known about the film at this time, although we'd presume it will be a fairly direct adaptation of this intense story-driven game.

Read more