In an industry overflowing with battle royale titles, Fortnite and the new Call of Duty: Blackout have dominated the field. Unfortunately for the developers at Outpost Games, their take on the game mode, SOS Battle Royale, has run its course. Outpost Games recently announced that their multiplayer title will be shut down November 12.
The team stated that both SOS and SOS: Classic will be affected by this news. The studio’s ultimate goal of resonating with a large portion of the battle royale community was not reached. “Unfortunately, through multiple iterations of SOS, we were unable to fully realize this goal and engage players and viewers in the way we had hoped. For that, we are sorry.” Outpost Games has shown their appreciation to those dedicated players and reports that until the permanent shut down of SOS, the matchmaking speed and quality of the game will be largely dependent on the number of players currently playing. Check out the full post:
SOS was first launched in January of this year, not having the longest of lifetimes. Like other battle royales, you are dropped on an island and must be the last fighter standing using more than just the weapons that are found. Instead of the typical one hundred player lobby, SOS drops thirty-two players on La Cuna Island. Boasting quality graphics, the game allows players to purchase outfits, gestures, and a Season Pass. The Season Pass has been structured very similarly to Fortnite’s, with tiers to unlock that are leveled through play, though free rewards are available.
The premise behind SOS is that players are trapped in a game show on this island. A microphone is required to play the game and voice proximity chat is a feature that players rely on. Upon death the spectators don’t simply go away, they interact with the remaining players with certain emotes and their voice. It is always saddening to see a game shut down after a studio’s hard work, but it has been a challenge to break into the battle royale market with Fortnite and now Blackout in the picture.
Until its permanent shut down, SOS will remain available on the Steam Store.