Turtle Rock Stops Developing Evolve

Well, this is unexpected.

Turtle Rock recently made headlines when they announced they were taking their asymmetric multiplayer experience, Evolve, and bringing some major changes to it--updating the gameplay, the game modes, and perhaps more importantly, turning it into a free-to-play experience on PCs. By all accounts, the move was a massive success, with millions of players returning to the once-abandoned servers and breathing life into a nearly dead game.

But today, that's all over. Kind of. It's still a bit of a mess, a bit vague, but according to a new message posted on the Turtle Rock forum, the team is no longer going to be working on Evolve.
 

"Seems like the greater things you aspire to, the more time it takes. We had huge aspirations for Evolve, and while we got to spend five and a half awesome years on planet Shear with a ragtag group of Planet Tamers and fearsome Monsters, it still doesnt feel like enough - we were hungry for more but unfortunately today is the last day that Turtle Rock Studios can work on Evolve."

The letter goes at length about their journey with Evolve and how bittersweet this departure is, and the sad fate of developers like themselves, but while it's certainly emotionally charged, it's sadly devoid of any practically useful information. Does this mean 2K, the developer, will be taking charge of the IP and overseeing the transition to free-to-play? Is that even still happening? Who will maintain the servers? Why is it being shut down in the first place? There are dozens of questions, and exactly none of them are answered in the message.

Troubling.

Still, this is clearly a sad day for fans and developers alike, so we'll pay it that much respect before we really start clamoring for more information. So, congratulations to Turtle Rock for their success and good luck with whatever it is they're making next.

Maybe Left 4 Dead 3?

Ha, funny joke.