Tactical Card Game Duelyst Shutting Down In Late February

It's been a while since we last reported on Duelyst -- nearly two years, to be precise. Now we (sort of) know why: The free-to-play card/board game hybrid will be shutting down next month.

In a statement posted to the game's website, the developers announced that the game's servers would be shutting down at 3:00 p.m. Pacific on Feb. 27.

"Saying goodbye to any game is never easy, and it’s always hardest when you love the game as much as we all love Duelyst. We’re incredibly proud of the effort our developers have put in on Duelyst over the years, and even more proud of the amazing community of friends and gamers that have enjoyed Duelyst."

Players can no longer purchase the game's premium currency, Diamonds, and refunds will be issued for all Diamond purchases made after Dec. 21. If you do have some Diamonds saved up, you can go wild purchasing Diamond Orb bundles -- a.k.a. card packs -- as prices have been slashed 99%.

Duelyst is a game with a complicated history. It was originally announced as a buy-to-play title, and when it shifted to free-to-play, some backers of its Kickstarter were less than happy. It formally launched on April 27, 2016, and a little over a year later, Counterplay Games turned over publishing duties to Bandai Namco. It's released plenty of expansions, albeit small ones, but none seemed to measurably move the needle on the game's population, which has been steadily declining on Steam.

So we'll bid adieu to another free-to-play game, though at least this one got a decent run of a few years, unlike some others that have faded into oblivion soon after launch. Did you play Duelyst? If so, what did you think and why (I'd assume) did you stop playing?