Learning from the Style of Famous Bombastic Games: A Successful Model for “Survival After Death” Games
Dauntless is another name that embodies this concept well. Upon its initial release, this game garnered significant attention as it was introduced as a PC version of Monster Hunter, a title that many games have aspired to. Dauntless itself maintained its popularity for nearly six months until Capcom decided to launch Monster Hunter: World.
As time progressed, Dauntless quickly became a point of contention among gamers.
Quiet and consistent for a while, the unmistakable signs of Dauntless’s decline began to appear mid-last year when developer Phoenix Labs announced significant layoffs and halted development on several projects to ensure the studio’s operational stability. Each month grew increasingly difficult, especially in December when Dauntless lost its exclusivity on the Epic Games Store and transitioned to Steam. Instead of enjoying a wave of new players, its Steam launch became a disaster.
The evolution of battle royale games and the new “blood-sucking” model quickly stirred excitement among players, leading to negative reviews directed at the game. To make matters worse, when each month seemed to be more challenging than the last, Phoenix Labs had to make tough decisions. The end result was the retreat of Dauntless from the gaming scene. Specifically, the developer announced on Steam that there would be no further updates or new content released, and Dauntless would cease to be playable after May 29. In other words, the game will officially go offline three months from now.
A rather unfortunate yet understandable conclusion for Dauntless. Famous for emulating the style of the Monster Hunter series, this game quickly faded as Monster Hunter’s “real” iteration continued to thrive on PC.
