It may be an inevitability of the development process, but seeing support for a popular title wind down is never an easy pill to swallow. IllFonic’s Friday the 13th: The Game, released back in 2017, is headed toward that very endgame scenario later this month, as confirmed in a heartfelt post yesterday. In it, lead community developer Matt confirms that November will mark the arrival of one final update for the asymmetrical multiplayer title, which pits slasher film icon Jason Voorhees against a group of helpless victims as they desperately try to escape the swing of his beloved machete.
Regarding a specific reason prompting the unfortunate announcement, the post doesn’t specify any, though as is usually the case in situations such as these, the down scaling of operations likely comes as a result of low engagement. A downward trend in player numbers makes the cost of running dedicated servers hard to justify, after all, and publisher Gun Media, it seems, is in agreement.
While no individual date is given, Matt warns that, following the patch’s arrival, online play will revert to peer-to-peer matchmaking in Quick Play lobbies, meaning connection quality will rely on that of the individual player randomly chosen to host a session. Not exactly an ideal situation, then, but still preferable to the game shutting down completely. It’s worth noting, too, that player progression and various unlocks tied to each account will continue to be tracked and saved as usual.
Troubleshooting resources, while likely to be less efficient than previously, will continue to operate, though associated forums and social media channels will essentially go dark. Sad news indeed, but this certainly isn’t the end. In addition to remaining on storefronts such as Steam, various bonuses, such as double XP, CP and item drop rate boosts introduced earlier this year will remain in effect indefinitely.
Tell us, though, are you still an avid player of Friday the 13th: The Game? If so, let us know what you make of today’s developments down below!
