Splash Damage Ending Development On Dirty Bomb, But Game Will Continue

After three years in beta (preceded by a very expensive alpha) and just two months as a "launched" game, Dirty Bomb's fuse has run out. Developer Splash Damage announced today that it would be ending development on the free-to-play shooter but is hopeful the community will keep the game alive for the foreseeable future.

In a statement posted today, Splash Damage said there were "challenges we couldn’t overcome" and that, despite their best efforts, "we can’t financially justify continuing to work on the game we love." Live development will cease following the next bug fix build, which will be "in the upcoming weeks."

If there's a bright side for Dirty Bomb fans, it's that Splash Damage has been working hard to ensure the game will live on after their part in it is finished. Over the summer, Splash Damage has worked on several initiatives, such as FACEIT, Steam Trading, and community servers -- to keep the game alive after their involvement ends. Also, anyone who's purchased the All Merc Pack DLC through Jan. 31, 2019 is eligible to receive a full refund.

As for what this means for Splash Damage as a company, they seem to still have some irons in the fire. They reportedly have several other projects in the works, one of which might be a collaboration with Wargaming. The Splash Damage careers page says the company is "growing our studio for exciting new projects on PC and console." So this could be simply a reshuffling of resources to move from a product that isn't making much of a profit (Dirty Bomb) toward new initiatives that could reap greater rewards.