Super Monday Night Combat accidentally launches on Steam, developer surprisingly cool with it

By Earnest Cavalli April 18, 2012

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you were to open your copy of Steam and attempt to download Super Monday Night Combat right this minute, you could absolutely make that happen, despite the fact that the game should technically still be in beta. Its original launch date was supposed to be months away, and yet there it is, beckoning you to shoot people in the face for the entertainment of the population of a surprisingly colorful dystopian future that is equal parts Team Fortress 2 and The Running Man.

So, what gives? Why is this game available early? Did somebody at developer Uber Entertainment hit the wrong button and set the whole thing live well before he or she was supposed to? Apparently yes, and instead of scrambling to recall the game the company has decided to just roll with it.

“We did a bunch of invites over the weekend and there was some wonkiness on how the messaging went out with lots of confusion which resulted in more silliness,” writes Uber Entertainment’s Ekanaut on the firm’s forums. “We decided to just open it up. There will be an announcement about it on Steam soon.”

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Granted, this means that the game will not have the benefit of those extra few months of beta testing, but I doubt many players will be all that miffed since it means that they’re able to play one of the best multiplayer action titles of the last few years for free, immediately.

Plus, Uber can always patch in any necessary fixes discovered by those who benefit from the unintended launch with the game’s next intended update. Given that the title generates cash through in-game purchases (much like Valve’s Team Fortress 2), players should already expect the developer to alter pieces of the game as it sees fit. If anything, this situation is ideal as players get to enjoy the game sooner and Uber has a massively expanded user base effectively testing the game for them.

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Earnest Cavalli

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…

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