In a move that’s become all too familiar in the live-service landscape, Wargaming has announced the sunset of Steel Hunters—its ambitious mech-based PvPvE shooter—just three months after its early access launch. The servers will officially shut down on October 8, 2025, marking the end of a short-lived but passionate experiment.
A Promising Launch, A Swift Decline
Released in April 2025, Steel Hunters was Wargaming’s attempt to break away from its legacy titles like World of Tanks and World of Warships. With its sleek mech designs, faction-based customization, and destructible environments, the game promised a fresh take on competitive multiplayer. Early impressions were hopeful, with some players drawing comparisons to Titanfall and Hawken.
But despite its potential, Steel Hunters struggled to maintain momentum. Peak concurrent players on Steam barely reached 4,479, and by July, that number had plummeted to under 100. The game’s “mixed” reviews cited a lack of roadmap, slow updates, and a confusing progression system as major pain points.
In a heartfelt blog post, Wargaming addressed the community:
You’ve given us so much passion and support but unfortunately we’ve come to the conclusion that continuing development is not sustainable. We know this isn’t the news anyone wanted to hear and we genuinely share in your disappointment.
What Happens Now:
Let’s make these final months special together!
- Servers Will Stay Live for 90 Days: We want you to enjoy Steel Hunters fully until the very end so we’ll be keeping the game servers running for three months from today. Expect them to shut down around October 8th.
- Custom Games: In the coming weeks we’ll roll out custom game support so you can play with your friends set up community matches and create some final memories together.
- All Hunters Fully Unlocked: As a thank you for your dedication we’re unlocking every Hunter for all players with the new game mode – including Hunters nobody has seen yet. Try them out explore and have fun!
- Farewell Tournament: We’re also planning a goodbye tournament to celebrate your love for competition and the amazing community you’ve built. More details soon on Discord.
We are immensely grateful for your time feedback memes and the countless memorable battles we’ve shared. From the very first days of Alpha you’ve shaped Steel Hunters with your energy creativity and dedication and we’re honored to have had you on this journey. We couldn’t have wished for a better community and we’ll miss you all dearly.
Thank you Hunters for everything.
The demise of Steel Hunters isn’t just a story of one game—it’s a reflection of the broader challenges facing live-service titles. In an era where players are entrenched in ecosystems like Fortnite and Call of Duty, new entries struggle to carve out space. Even with solid mechanics and a passionate dev team, Steel Hunters couldn’t overcome the inertia of a saturated market.
Creative Director Sergey Titarenko once admitted that sticking to the World of Tanks IP might’ve been safer. Instead, the team chose to innovate—and while it didn’t pan out, that risk deserves recognition.
Steel Hunters may be fading into digital oblivion, but its brief existence offered a glimpse of what mech shooters could be in the modern age. For fans of physical media and gaming preservation, this is yet another reminder of the fragility of digital-only experiences. When the servers go dark, so too does a piece of gaming history.
If you played Steel Hunters, now’s the time to jump back in, unlock everything, and make some final memories. And if you didn’t—well, maybe it’s worth booting up just once, before it’s gone forever.
