by theygamesUbisoft’s mediocre Star Wars Outlaws was of course the big new Star Wars game of last year, but it wasn’t the only one to drop. A free-to-play Star Wars hero shooter also emerged on Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms, and was destined to come to PC in 2025. However, just eight months on from its initial launch, the developers of Star Wars Hunters have revealed that its next update will be its last, its servers will be shut down later in the year, and that its Steam launch is being abandoned.
If you weren’t even aware of Star Wars Hunters’ existence, then I wouldn’t blame you. A free-to-play, 4v4 multiplayer game created mainly for handheld devices, it’s probably existed beyond the range of most PC players’ radars. However, there were plans for it to come to PC in early access this January, but following a Steam playtest in December 2024, the decision was made to delay it. Bringing it to Valve’s storefront could have been a catalyst for more players and more notoriety – Marvel Rivals has already proven that the combo of hero shooter and character-rich IP can result in success – but now the PC version of Star Wars Hunters will never see the light of day.
“After careful consideration, we want to let you know that the final content update for Star Wars: Hunters on all platforms will be on April 15th,” developer Zynga says in a statement. “The game will remain playable until October 1st, 2025, when the game’s online servers will be shut down.” In a separate Q+A page, it’s confirmed that “this decision impacts all platforms including PC which will no longer launch.”
Star Wars Hunters initially dropped eight months ago, and in that time it’s pushed out several seasons that include new heroes, maps, and game modes. However, it’s clear that despite the huge fandom for the franchise, Hunters hasn’t been able to attract a sustainable amount of players.
Zynga confirms that the final update to the game on Tuesday, April 15 will add new Support Hunter, Tuya, for free along with “a slate of additional in-game content.” In-game purchases will also be disabled when this update drops.
The fact that Star Wars Hunters will never even get to launch on PC shows just how brutal it is for free-to-play multiplayer games. This week we’ve also seen Spectre Divide, a Valorant-style tactical shooter that only launched on Steam back in September, announce that it would be shutting down too. It’s tough out there.
However, there are still loads of solid and successful free PC games that you can play right now. To see what else is on the horizon, check out our upcoming PC games guide – hopefully all of these will actually make it to Steam, unlike Star Wars Hunters.
You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.