Spectre Divide CEO Says the Game "Isn't Going Anywhere"
Shroud's 3v3 first-person shooter Spectre Divide has struggled with dwindling statistics after launch. All eyes are on Mountaintop Studios to see what's next for the title, and if it can recover from its low player count and 'dead game' allegations. Now, Mountaintop Studios' CEO has released an official statement: Spectre Divide "isn't going anywhere" and will continue to update. Here's what we know.
Spectre Divide's CEO Speaks Out
On October 8th 2024, Mountaintop Studios CEO Nate Mitchell released an official statement on Spectre Divide's website. The statement is captioned with a witty Mark Twain quote: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." Mitchell elaborates, saying:
Some folks out there have declared Spectre ‘dead,’ mostly as a result of low concurrency. It’s true that Spectre’s concurrent player count is lower than we’d all like. [...] With that said, I can assure you that Spectre isn’t going anywhere. [...]We love this game – we’ve poured our heart and soul into it these past 4 years – and we’re just getting started.
- Nate Mitchell
Mitchell continues, noting that Mountaintop Studios prioritizes community feedback and in-game updates. He addresses marketing concerns in a Q&A, stating that "the lack of marketing spend is a direct consequence of self-publishing" and also reveals that the studio opted not to delay launch to avoid holiday season competition and save funds for marketing purposes. Regarding the studio's layoffs, he writes "We made the difficult decision to reduce our monthly spend to make sure we were set up to support Spectre for the long term."
These insights give the esports community a behind-the-scenes understanding and shed light on what led to Spectre Divide's current predicament.
Spectre Divide 's Low Player Count
Spectre Divide debuted to widespread hype on September 3rd, 2024. The game features successful Counter-Strike and VALORANT esports player Shroud as its Lead Gameplay Advisor, drops consistent updates and describes itself as a "genre-evolving 3v3 tactical shooter driven by duality." However, just a month into its release, Spectre Divide's concurrent player count is hitting all-time lows: the game dipped under 6,000 players on September 26 and its statistics continue to dwindle. As of October 8 2024, the game has just 380 viewers and 23,000 followers on Twitch — in comparison, another tac-shooter, VALORANT, has over 79,000 viewers.
There are multiple reasons for Spectre Divide's lackluster reception. The game's high cosmetic pricing sparked controversy (although it's important to note Mountaintop Studios was immediately receptive to the community's criticism and lowered pricing by 25%). The title also debuted in a harshly competitive field: over 5,500 first-person shooter titles are available on Steam alone. To complete the perfect storm, Valve's newest game Deadlock arrived just days before Spectre Divide's release, overshadowing it.
Regardless of the reasoning, Spectre Divide has a current 24-hour peak of 2,700 players — just one-fifteenth of its 30,000-player all-time peak (SteamDB).
Related Article: Shroud's Spectre Divide Hits All Time Low in Peak Players
What's Next for Spectre Divide?
Mountaintop Studios' official communication details their plan to confront Spectre Divide's issues in future updates. The studio says they're "in a Save Round," but promises a "Full Buy" in the future after major fixes.
According to the statement, Mountaintop Studios plans to focus on client performance and frame rate optimization. In addition, the team is working on a Battle Pass and Careers to release with Season 1. Nate Mitchell notes that developers will combat matchmaking issues if player counts continue to dip by combining queues and courting new players. Mitchell states "The team is laser-focused on improving the game as our top priority."
Spectre Divide's situation is not unique — the space-themed FPS Concord infamously 'flopped' earlier this year after similar pricing and player count concerns. The game ceased operations and fully refunded all buyers after ten days. It's also reminiscent of Valve's DOTA 2 card game Artifact, which suffered low player numbers and closed after previously assuring fans that the team is "in this for the long haul."
Related article: Concord Is Actually A Dead Game — Sales Ceased Immediately
There's more, but we'll leave the details for the update. We also plan for another update next week (then a break over Christmas). Then more work next month. We're in this for the long haul.
— Artifact (@PlayArtifact) December 11, 2018
While Mountaintop Studios is taking active steps to improve the situation and directly face Spectre Divide's issues, only time will tell if they can clutch this save round.
