Evolve: Stage 2 is the free-to-play update from Turtle Rock Studios which was geared to improve the availability of the game to a wider audience, bringing in huge success and praise from fans of the series known for its asymmetrical shooter gameplay and hunting mechanics.
Unfortunately, though, Turtle Rock has announced that today is the final day they will support development for the title in a post on their official forums.
In the post the team wrote about how they have appreciated the huge support from fans of the series, as well as THQ, "who initially believed in us when we were that tiny studio in a little converted warehouse with a dream of making something truly different," as well as thanking 2K "for picking up the mantle out of THQ’s bankruptcy and making Evolve one of the most anticipated games of 2015." As well as thanking 2K's support for the free-to-play update on PC, which was an unknown decision in the AAA market at the time, but had brought in a lot of fans and supporters as a result.
Turtle Rock said that it was tough to leave the game behind, saying that leaving Left4Dead was just as hard to leave behind as it is to leave Evolve now.
"This is the life of AAA game developers who aren’t self-funded and don’t own their own IP. We don’t get to make the call. We all know that going in but we still sign the dotted line because we love what we do. We are happy to have gotten the opportunity to do something risky, something new and innovative. We created a brand new Sci-Fi world. We got to go to planet Shear and interact with alien flora and fauna. We got to hunt down, trap and kill giant monsters together. We got to BE the monster. What an awesome experience."
In celebration of of Evolve: Stage 2's success, Turtle Rock Studios will be hosting an Evolve-themed livestream on Thursday, October 27 on their official streaming channel at 12 pm Pacific time. They will be talking about their experience during Evolve's development, as well as answering questions from the audience.
Turtle Rock Studios is not done yet, though. they said that this is only the end of another chapter, and that the team has many more plans and ideas ahead.
"We’ll see you all again, another time on another world…."
Jacob Preston
I never played the game but I do remember wanting to play it but not thinking it was worth the price of a full price game. Its sad to see that development is ending as the game had potential, it just needed more replay value and more content.