Crucible, the multiplayer third-person shooter, published by Amazon and developed by Relentless Games, is going back to closed beta on Wednesday, July 1, at 9 a.m. PT, after suffering from a variety of issues.
While Crucible was an ambitious launch for Amazon, it’s still a newcomer to game publishing and development. Crucible is a hybrid of several existing free-to-play and hero shooters in the lineage of Apex Legends and Overwatch. Beyond its lack of identity, the game was marred by technical issues, including voice chat and matchmaking problems.
Crucible received an aggregate review score of 56 on Metacritic and was praised by critics for its vibrant locations and hybrid gameplay mechanics. However, it was widely criticized for being generic among a large catalog of hero shooters.
Relentless Games also faced problematic communication with gamers. After Crucible‘s release, Relentless removed two of Crucible‘s three modes, leaving Heart of Hives as the remaining option. Relentless has worked to improve the game since its release, though players have shown little interest with fewer than 150 people online, according to Polygon.
Crucible will still launch normally through Steam without redownloading. Progress, in-game items, and purchases will remain unaffected as well. Relentless didn’t say when Crucible will leave closed beta.
Colin Johanson, Relentless’ franchise lead, released an update on Tuesday detailing the decision to revert Crucible to its closed beta stage and what improvements it will make.
“We’ll continue following the road map we laid out previously and working on map, combat, and system changes to improve the Heart of the Hives experience as well as implementing other improvements based on your feedback and what we think the game needs in order to thrive,” Johanson said.
Players may notice developers soliciting feedback at regular weekly intervals. Relentless will seek input from a “community council made up of beta participants of all play styles.”
Once Crucible transitions to a normal launch, players may come back to a more polished experience. It’s also possible that the game’s player count will be higher if Crucible‘s changes during closed beta separate it from its competitors.
“We’re looking forward to the closed beta,” Johanson said “and to what’s in store for the future of Crucible.”
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