Spectre Divide shutdown: Why Mountaintop Studios' shooter failed despite big backing?

Big downfall

Spectre Divide, launched in September 2024 with some big promises and big backing, is now shutting down along with the developers Mountaintop Studios in March 2025.

Despite millions of dollars in funding and endorsements from streaming mogul Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek, the game failed to thrive. Let’s check out more details in this article.

A message from our CEO about the future of Spectre Divide and Mountaintop Studios. pic.twitter.com/sk18NIgman

— Spectre Divide (@SpectreDivide) March 12, 2025

What led to Spectre Divide’s downfall?

At one point, many considered that Spectre Divide might be the next big thing in competitive shooters. It has an appealing aesthetic and a unique “Duality” mechanic that allows players to control two bodies at once.

Shroud, a former esports pro turned streaming legend, was its most vocal supporter. Despite this enthusiasm, the game sank quickly, struggling to retain players following its debut.

Mountaintop Studios shared this on social media post:

“Unfortunately, the Season 1 launch didn’t hit the mark we needed to keep Spectre Divide and Mountaintop running. We saw ~400,000 players in week one, peaking at ~10,000 concurrent users across platforms. But over time, we haven’t had enough active players or revenue to cover costs.”

For a free-to-play, live service game, this is not a great option. No players means no income and this is not new as we have already seen what happened with Concord.

Questions regarding the game’s health appeared almost immediately: “Is Spectre Divide dying?” Fans recognized flaws from the beginning.

Bugs plagued the September release, a certain way to turn off gamers, free or not. A faulty startup can kill a game before it ever starts, and Spectre Divide was no exception.

What about the highly anticipated Duality feature? It turned out to be more flash than substance, failing to significantly improve the whole experience.

Also Read: Shroud-X joins Marvel Rivals Esports: Shroud’s new team!

Another big hit came from Shroud as he stopped playing and streaming the game. Instead, he was playing Deadlock and with the arrival of Marvel Rivals, it was a nail in the coffin.

Spectre Divide’s closure, set within 30 days of March 13, 2025, with Mountaintop closing its doors this week, reflects a sad truth in today’s gaming scene: even massive investments and celebrity power can’t salvage a title that doesn’t stick.

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