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1498000cookie-checkMavericks, 1,000-Player Battle Royale Game Devs Have Gone Broke Before Release
Industry News
2019/08

Mavericks, 1,000-Player Battle Royale Game Devs Have Gone Broke Before Release

It looks like the battle royale game that is all about 400 or 1,000 people fighting on a field powered by the Cryengine has seemingly gone broke. I’m sure you don’t know what Mavericks: The Forge or Proving Grounds is, right? Well, the game is the works of Automation Games, but due to insufficient funding the game has gone broke, and development has stopped.

If you think this is another battle royale cash-in game you’d be right. The devs however seemingly have gone broke via a new update, but before jumping into what went down, here’s Mavericks teaser trailer:

The game’s in-engine footage looks generic at best if not flat out lazy. In other words, Automation Games was trying to capture PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite’s success but failed.

Well, according to DSOG the website has found the following letter regarding the game — that would soon see 400 people then turn into 1,000 combatants on a battle royale field — to be out of funds. Here’s the letter on automaton.uk explaining the devs’ grim situation:

“Paul Cooper and Paul Appleton were appointed joint administrators of Automaton Games Limited on 30th July 2019. They are managing the affairs, business and property of the company. The joint administrators act as agents of the company and act without personal liability. Paul Cooper and Paul Appleton are licensed to act as insolvency practitioners in UK by the ICAEW.

 

Please be advised that due to insufficient funding, the development of the Mavericks: Proving Grounds game has now ceased. The joint administrators are in the process of licensing the Deceit game so there will be no change in the live operation and provision of this game.”

Website gamesindustry.biz received the following notice from a spokesperson at Improbable (the ones who offered Automation Games the SpatialOS tech) saying:

“Automaton’s closure and the ceasing of development on Mavericks is sad news.

 

Mavericks was a hugely ambitious project, and we were glad to support it with the networking technology that made its large world and innovative approach to multiplayer possible. Unfortunately, Automaton was unable to find further investment to support their ambitious development plans.

 

Automaton Games is a talented team, and we will look to match any former Automaton employees to roles that we are looking to fill at Improbable.”

That’s right, the 400 (that would soon turn into a 1,000-player) triple-A shooter will not see its development through to the end given that Automation Games has insufficient funds.

Over on the now stillborn game’s sub-reddit, the very few people supporting the title are saying the game is a scam. One user by the name of Phsyrik will get his $29.99 back in three months, while another user by the name of Turtlenade is warning others that the project is a money trap.

In other words, The final version of the title in question aiming to be both a battle royale and MMO game will not see the light of day according to the above letter.

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