Summary
Co-op shooterSecond Extinction, a former Xbox Game Pass release, is ending development prior to the long-awaited full release of the game. Developer Systemic Reaction shared the disappointing news today via Steam, saying that there are both technical and financial limitations preventingSecond Extinctionfrom going forward. As a result,Second Extinctionhas been delisted from storefronts and online servers are planned to be taken down in 2024.
Xbox fans will recall thatSecond Extinctionwas heavily advertised in the lead-up to the release of the Xbox Series X/S.Second Extinction’s co-op FPS actionand dinosaur hunting drew a good amount of attention, despite coming from a self-publishing indie team.Second Extinctionwould go on to launch in early access on Xbox Game Pass in 2021, but dwindling popularity led to its removal from the service one year ago. A full launch in late 2022 didn’t end up happening, andSecond Extinction’s development has been in question since.
Systemic Reaction has now released a statement detailing what’s happened since thedelayed full launch ofSecond Extinctionin 2022. The team says that as the October 2022 release date approached, “critical issues” forced it to cancel its plans. In the time since, it became clear that System Reaction did not have the resources necessary to reach full launch. That’s led to the decision to delistSecond Extinction.
Those who previously purchasedSecond Extinctionwill be able to continue playing for the time being. That goes for bothSecond Extinction’s solo and multiplayer modes. The current plan is forSecond Extinction’s servers to go offline “later next year,” with Systemic Reaction promising to share more specific details as they’re available.Second Extinctionwill never receive its 1.0 update. Development is ending whileSecond Extinctionis still in early access.
While the news aboutSecond Extinctionis disappointing, Systemic Reaction is trying to maintain a positive outlook. It says that sometimes it’s necessary to “celebrate our failures.” The development ofSecond Extinctionis described as a success on many levels. The team will not suffer any layoffs as a result of the project’s cancelation, and it will put the experience it gained into future projects.
Systemic Reaction has already shown that it’s ready to move on. It launched theopen-world action rogueliteRavenboundin 2023, and multiple patches and DLC packs since. Its first game,Generation Zero, received an update in July and has since been offered as a free PlayStation Plus release. It’s likely just a matter of time before Systemic Reaction is ready to announce its next project.
Second Extinctionwas available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
