World of Tanks devs’ free mech game Steel Hunters is dying in October, just months after release 

World of Tanks developer Wargaming is closing down its latest release: Steel Hunters. Released in April, the pretty fun hero shooter with big robots launched to decent reception, but a very low player base. 

While updates have continued since launch, player counts have continued to fall. In an announcement to the game’s remaining fans, Wargaming confirmed that the project will cease in October 2025, just prior to the planned release of its 1.0 update. 

I played Steel Hunters just before launch and loved it, but felt the pacing of the game suffered. With smaller player counts for its mech-filled matches, the game often felt like it was ending just as it started to get good, leaving me underwhelmed. 

“Today we share difficult news: we’ve made the decision to sunset Steel Hunters,” the team said in a recent blog post. “You’ve given us so much passion and support but unfortunately we’ve come to the conclusion that continuing development is not sustainable. We know this isn’t the news anyone wanted to hear and we genuinely share in your disappointment.”

Servers for the game will keep running until October 8, 2025. Afterwards, the plug will be pulled and the game will be lost forever. 

As the game winds down, Wargaming has made all unlocks available to every player, as well as new characters that were in the works. Additionally, the team will also be adding Custom Games support to “play with your friends, set up community matches and create some final memories together.”

Finally, the studio will be holding a “goodbye tournament” with the community that will celebrate the game and its fans. Although, exact details on that tournament have yet to be disclosed. 

“We are immensely grateful for your time feedback memes and the countless memorable battles we’ve shared,” the studio said. “From the very first days of Alpha you’ve shaped Steel Hunters with your energy creativity and dedication and we’re honored to have had you on this journey. We couldn’t have wished for a better community and we’ll miss you all dearly.”

In an interview with VideoGamer earlier this year, creative director Surgey Titarenko admitted that making a World of Mechs game would’ve been a safer bet for the studio with “very hot discussions” both whether to rely on the old IP or make something entirely new. Sometimes, you make the wrong call, but at least the team did try something different, even if it didn’t pan out.