Interested in learning what's next for the gaming industry? Join gaming executives to discuss emerging parts of the industry this October at GamesBeat Summit Next. Learn more.
Supercell is closing down Rush Wars. The developer posted a blog today that explains the decision. Fans weren’t loving the early beta test, which launched in key test markets in August. And Supercell’s efforts to improve that reception did little to turn it around.
“When we started developing Rush Wars, the team’s goal was to make a different type of build and battle game that casual players could enjoy,” reads a Supercell blog. “During the beta, we wanted to try out things that could change the game in different ways, to see what would happen in terms of strategy and gameplay to make it more challenging and change the dynamics.”
But from launch, Rush Wars had problems with repetitive gameplay. It also didn’t do enough to distinguish itself from Supercell’s other hits, like Brawl Stars and Boom Beach. That led to Supercell attempting to improve Rush Wars in beta.
“We made some changes with a few updates,” reads the blog. “However, the changes we made didn’t help the game long term nor change up the gameplay style enough to make it as fun as we would like.”
Event
MetaBeat 2022
MetaBeat will bring together metaverse thought leaders to give guidance on how metaverse technology will transform the way all industries communicate and do business on October 3-4 in San Francisco, CA.
So now Rush Wars is no more.
Rush Wars closure is about (Canadian) dollars and cents
Supercell’s move to shut down Rush Wars is about the game underperforming.
In Canada, Rush Wars earned 400,000 downloads, according to intelligence firm Sensor Tower. It also grossed $310,000. Nearly 60% of that is from Canada, which is the biggest of the test markets where Rush Wars is available.
If you compare that to Brawl Stars, Supercell’s previous big release, it had more than twice the number of downloads at 860,000 at this point in its life. It also generated nearly three-times the revenue at $910,000. And all of that was from Canada alone.
So Rush Wars isn’t performing nearly as well as Brawl Stars, and that’s a problem for a company like Supercell. That studio is so successful that it’s actually a major opportunity cost to spend time and money on something that isn’t delivering at a massive scale.
Supercell will likely move on to something new soon.
GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you -- not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Learn more about membership.
