Ryan Ellis, Game Director at Firewalk Studios, announced AgreementThey revealed the fate of the game in a message to players, writing that “certain aspects of the game and our initial launch did not turn out as we intended.”
“Agreement fans – we’ve been listening to your feedback since launch Agreement on PlayStation 5 and PC, and I’d like to thank everyone who joined the journey on Northstar,” Ellis wrote. “Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game have meant the world to us.
“However, while many features of the experience have resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch have not delivered the results we expected. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to retire the game as of September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players.”
Refunds will be issued to the original payment method for PS5 players, regardless of whether they purchased the game from the PlayStation Store or via PlayStation Direct, as well as for players who purchased the game on PC.
Sony and Firewalk Launched Agreement to a lukewarm reception last month; the game received mixed reviews due to its shockingly low concurrent player count on Steam, with fewer than 700 people playing the game during its launch weekend. These numbers have dropped even more in the weeks after the premiere, according to SteamDB Database. On Tuesday, there were about 30 people playing at the same time in Concord, which is a terrible indicator of the health of the game. The latest report from IGN announced that around 25,000 copies of the game have been sold since its release.
However, the game’s poor reception was evident even before its release. AgreementThe two-player multiplayer beta test also lacked participants, and decrease in the number of players from one beta weekend to the next.
Agreement received mixed reviews from critics who lamented the game’s lack of standout features, its $40 price tag amidst competing free-to-play games, and its lackluster cast of characters. Agreement lets players take control of 16 Freegunners, a diverse group of aliens, robots, and space mercenaries, each with their own special abilities, in 5v5 multiplayer matches. The game was Firewalk’s debut title, which was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2023.
One option for Agreement is that Sony and Firewalk will remake the game to be free-to-play or become a title available in the PlayStation Plus catalog. Agreement was not created with free-to-play mechanics in mind. The game did not feature a battle pass or other microtransactions at launch, and instead promised free updates to those who purchased the game.
