It is worth noting that players who already have Destruction AllStars linked to their PlayStation accounts can continue playing the single-player game modes until November 25th. Players can also continue to spend any Destruction Points that they may have leftover from their time spent with their game until the same date, at which point all of the servers for Destruction AllStars will be taken down.

Among the single-player content available to play for those who already own the game include the Arcade Mode and its challenges. However, the company has noted that “functionality and player experience may be impacted due to the server shutdown,” and that “all remaining game services will be taken offline.”

Multiplayer, however, has already stopped being accessible, with Sony citing “ongoing technical issues” for permanently disabling the feature.

Reports about Destruction AllStars being delisted from the PlayStation Store first came about earlier this week, with a search through the PlayStation Store across two different regions coming up empty. We noted that its PlayStation.com page was still live with an “Add to Wishlist” button and an “Announced” status. Aside from details about the title, however, most of the page remains empty, including player ratings and reviews, and even the “Editions” section, which previously included all of the editions that you could buy.

Destruction AllStars was released with a price tag of $19.99. PlayStation Plus subscribers at the time, however, could have picked up a free copy of the title in the first two months of its release. The price tag may have played a role in the game not amassing a large enough player base, and rumors started popping up just a year after its initial release that it might be going fully free-to-play.

In our review, we gave Destruction AllStars a score of 7 out of 10 thanks to its strong vehicular combat, tight and responsive controls, and solid performance.

Developed by Lucid Games, Destruction AllStars was one of the first few PS5-exclusive titles to be released. The title framed its multiplayer gameplay as a “global sports entertainment event where stars and cars collide”, with players picking one out of 16 characters, each equipped with their own unique hero vehicles. While there was an emphasis on vehicle combat, Destruction AllStars also featured on-foot gameplay when a player decided to eject from their vehicle. While on foot, players had to deal with the more powerful weaponry equipped on their opponents’ vehicles by making use of unique skills, like being able to hijack another player’s vehicle or going invisible.

Since the release of Destruction AllStars, Lucid Games has moved on to other projects. As of 2023, the studio had begun working with Rare to support the development of Sea of Thieves. July 2023 saw the studio getting acquired by LightSpeed Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent. Announcing this acquisition, Lucid Games said that “we’ll continue to enjoy full independence in the games that we create and the operation of the studio, while having support from LightSpeed Studios’ global network and technology capabilities.”

I can confirm the delisting – a search on the Store across two different regions on PS5 yielded no results. A quick peek at its official PlayStation.com page shows the wishlist button and star ratings, but scroll down, and you’ll find that the “Editions” section is empty.

Neither Sony nor Lucid has provided any official warning about servers shutting down – even Concord was pulled from sale two weeks after launch, before going offline about seven weeks later. On the bright side, at least Destruction AllStars has an Arcade Mode where players can partake in against the AI to unlock new cosmetics.

But if this really is the end for multiplayer, then it’s not all that surprising. After launching in February 2021 for PS5, it struggled to really find an audience despite being free for PlayStation Plus subscribers in its first two months. It would even retail for $19.99, but still faded into the background. Rumors of a free-to-play shift proved unfounded and Lucid Games would be acquired by Lightspeed Games, a Tencent subsidiary in 2023.

Lucid made the announcement on Twitter, where it confirmed that it will “continue to enjoy full independence in the games that we create and the operation of the studio”. Lucid says it will also receive “support from LightSpeed Studios’ global network and technology capabilities.”

Lucid Games has also provided development support on a number of major titles in recent years, including the likes of Apex Legends, Sea of Thieves, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and the upcoming Nightingale.

In 2021, leaks also claimed that Lucid Games was developing a reboot of the Twisted Metal franchise, though in early 2022, it was reported that the project had changed hands and been taken over by Firesprite.

We are thrilled that Lucid Games is now part of LightSpeed Studios family.

We'll continue to enjoy full independence in the games that we create and the operation of the studio, while having the support from LightSpeed Studios' global network and technology capabilities. pic.twitter.com/uLJW3vI3PI

— Lucid Games (@LucidGamesLtd) July 13, 2023

Redfall

Arkane has cemented itself as one of the top names when it comes to creating highly dynamic sandboxes with the likes of Dishonored and Prey, and the studio is definitely one of the crown jewels of the Xbox Game Studios roster post the Zenimax acquisition. Fans were understandably excited about Arkane’s Xbox exclusive project Redfall, a co-op game that blends the developer’s signature ability-based gameplay into the core gameplay loop of looting and shooting that had the potential to be a smash hit.

But in actuality, Redfall is anything but. It’s a painfully generic looter shooter that’s subject to a bevy of gameplay and technical problems. Repetitive content, dull gameplay, and an uninteresting story are just some of Redfall’s issues that get compounded with a wide variety of technical issues to make for a consistently frustrating experience. It’s obviously a big shock for fans of Arkane’s works, and there’s no doubt the developer has heavily fumbled with this project.

Taking recently to Twitter, Lucid Games announced that it’s entered into a partnership with Rare that’ll see the developer providing support work on Sea of Thieves. “It’s been incredible supporting them on their thrilling pirate adventure and we can’t wait to see where this legendary voyage will take us,” the developer wrote.

What exactly this will entail isn’t currently clear. Will Lucid Games be working on separate content for Sea of Thieves, or will the studio only provide support work on the work being done by Rare? That remains to be seen.

This is, of course, an approach that a number of live service Microsoft games have taken- the approach being to partner up with external developers for support work. Rust developer Double Eleven was previously confirmed to be working alongside Bethesda on Fallout 76, while Certain Affinity is at work on Halo Infinite alongside 343 Industries.

Given the sort of success that Sea of Thieves continues to see though, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Microsoft and Rare have every intention of further expanding the game.

We’re excited to announce that we are working with @RareLtd on @SeaOfThieves!

It’s been incredible supporting them on their thrilling pirate adventure & we can’t wait to see where this legendary voyage will take us! ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/KDAKg1put4

— Lucid Games (@LucidGamesLtd) January 18, 2023

Events are a new feature for the game, available for six weeks. They introduce a new AllStar Pass and offer rotating challenges that reward currency, XP and new cosmetics. Rise is first followed by Unite and Survive in the future. Jumpshot is the new mode which involves four teams of three players each.

One player becomes “geared up” and must jump through a goal in the map’s center to gain points. Their teammates will earn more time by attacking opponents. Once points are scored or the gear is lost, another player becomes geared. In addition, competitive seasons are coming to Blitz, each lasting six weeks, and the ranking system has been revamped to track skill levels better. There are also new cosmetic rewards to earn from the Blitz playlist.

For more details on Destruction AllStars’ gameplay and modes, check out the video below. Stay tuned for more details in the coming week.

It’s possible that Destruction AllStars might soon go free-to-play. The game was recently taken offline for an hour for maintenance purposes, but as a Reddit user has discovered, if you were to update the game and boot it up during that hour, the names of the in-game challenges displayed on the bottom right of the main screen appeared as code text rather than their actual names. Interestingly, “F2P” was mentioned in the text for every challenge, indicating that Sony might soon adopt a free-to-play model for the game. You can view a screencap of the same below.

That wouldn’t be the first time the game dips its toes in that water, of course. Back when it first came out, Destruction AllStars was free for all PlayStation Plus subscribers for a couple of months, following which it could be purchased by new players for $19.99 (as opposed to the full-priced $69.99 it was originally supposed to be).

Going free-to-play might be the right move to make here for Sony, especially considering the fact that Destruction AllStars hasn’t fared too well for some time now- and this might just be one of the ways to fix that. Whether or not it actually happen remains to be seen.

Destruction AllStars is available exclusively on PSS5.

Original story follows:

Recent leaks have claimed that Sony is working on a new Twisted Metal game to accompany the upcoming TV series. While early rumours had indicated that Destruction AllStars developer Lucid Games would be developing the game, a recent report stated that that was no longer the case, and that the project had been brought in-house to one of Sony’s European first party studios.

It seems like the freshly-acquired Firesprite – who’re also working on Horizon Call of the Mountain for PSVR2 – will be the studio in charge of the car combat reboot. As spotted recently over on ResetEra, Matt Southern has joined Firesprite as a game director, as per his LinkedIn page.

Why is that significant? Until recently, Southern was at Lucid Games, where he was the director on Destruction AllStars. Prior to that, he has also worked on multiple MotorStorm projects, and was also involved in DriveClub’s development.

Of course, that might be connecting dots that aren’t there, for a game that hasn’t yet been officially announced, but given Southern’s past experiences, it does seem like Firesprite might be the studio in charge of a Twisted Metal revival. We’ll keep an eye out for new details, so stay tuned.

A new job listing from Lucid Games has further added fuel to the rumor. The Liverpool-based developer is currently seeking a Senior Multiplayer Programmer to work on “an exciting next generation multiplayer game.” “Knowledge and experience of the Unreal Engine networking framework” was cited as being desired.

The Twisted Metal franchise is well known for its multiplayer component and with the newest title rumored to be free-to-play, it’s seemingly all but confirmed that Lucid Games is working on the same. This could also be a brand new IP so we’ll need to wait for an official announcement to be sure. If everything falls into place, then expect the new Twisted Metal to be out sometime in 2023 to coincide with the upcoming TV show.

Reports earlier this year claimed that Lucid Games had started work on a new entry in the long-dormant Twisted Metal franchise, which is allegedly going to adopt a free-to-play model and is targeting a 2023 launch to coincide with the release of the in-development TV series based on the franchise. Multiple leaks throughout the year have claimed the same thing, though of course, there’s been no indication from Sony about whether such a project is indeed in the works. If it is, though, we’re unlikely to hear anything official about it until its actual announcement.

Interestingly enough, another leak earlier this year also claimed that Lucid Games and XDEV – who also partnered on the aforementioned Destruction AllStars – were working on a new WipEout game for PS5 and PSVR 2. Read more on that through here.